Comparative Urbanism. Public Life Studies

Comparative

Urbanism 3

A Seminar on Designing Accessible Public Space in Washington, D.C., USA and Darmstadt, Germany

Comparative Urbanism Published by Technical University of Darmstadt Department of Architecture El-Lissitzky-Str. 1, 64287 Darmstadt, DE Virginia Tech School of Architecture + Design Washington-Alexandria Architecture Center 1001 Prince Street, Alexandria, VA 22314 Virginia Tech Research Center School of Public and International Affairs 900 N Glebe Rd, Arlington, VA 22203

Contents 4 6 10 12

Welcome

Martin Knöll, Susan Piedmont-Palladino & Ralph Buehler

The Course

Gladys Vasquez Fauggier & Scott Archer

Research Projects Examining Public Space Through Visual Impairment

Wiebke Bartels, Abu Baker Siddique, Maxwell Fuangaromya, Paul Schmidt

→ Georg-Büchner Platz, Darmstadt & Waterfront Park, Alexandria

16

Evolved vs. Designed

Bernadette Lang-Eurisch, Dirk Münning, Brittney Sooksengdao, Kennard Taylor

→ Albert Schweitzer Park, Darmstadt & Alethia Tanner Park, Washington

20

Accessibility for Pedestrians

Diego Andrade, Audrey Bolesta, Özge Tasar, Cihan Yusufoglu

→ Mathildenplatz, Darmstadt & Dupont Circle, Washington

24

Welcomeness

Mariam Elhoussieny, Ingrid Husanu, Shelby Pollack, McKenna Reynolds

→ Mathildenhöhe, Darmstadt & George Washington Masonic Memorial, Alexandria

28

Speed in Space

Haya Al Bitar, Shayan Ghodousi, Ingunn H. Honne, Ameya Kaulaskar

→ Johannesplatz, Darmstadt & Dupont Circle, Washington

32

Urban Alleys

Astha Bhavsar, Mona Koushkebaghi, Valerie Kramer, Paula Tempel

→ Gardinenstraße, Darmstadt & Blagden Alley, Washington

36

Event Spaces for the Elderly

Armond Dai, Yingjia Hu, Roya Saeidi, Hanqi Zheng

→ Marktplatz, Darmstadt & Market place, Alexandria

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Interdependence of the Public and the Institution

Emily Ashworth, Hannah Gerules, Robert Hirsch, Eliezer Perez

→ University library square, Darmstadt & Enid A. Haupt Garden, Washington

44 46

Outlook

Valentina Višnjić Lang

Credits / Imprint

Online → architektur.tu-darmstadt.de/transatlantic-discourse/

Martin Knöll, Susan Piedmont-Palladino & Ralph Buehler

Welcome to a transatlantic discourse on public space!

The Covid-19 pandemic shows that public spaces are vital hubs to meet others, engage with the community and become physically active, when we are otherwise needed to stay home and keep physically distanced. This publication presents what we can learn about designing inclusive public spaces, when we take on multiple and diverse perspectives — in this case in the form of comparative studies of two cities Washington D.C. in the U.S. and Darmstadt in Germany. The upcoming pages present comparative studies by architecture students joining a new collaborative seminar between Virginia Tech and the Technical University of Darmstadt.

The students' work reveals how public space is shaped by its morphologic, functional and historic context and what specific design elements enable or hinder meaningful and active use of squares, streets and parks. A specific focus was

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given to accessibility for citizens of different ages, gender and mobility restrictions. As a side-product, the following pages present a snapshot of how public space is used during a global pandemic, adding case studies to the emerging literature.

The results show differences in planning guidelines, financing models and stakeholders involved in building public space between the two countries, and indeed within the same city.

They also indicate communalities in how to activate urban fabric for an interesting and engaging public space and how to bring diverse stakeholders together as part of engaging and open processes. Equally interesting are the questions students raised during the research, opening up a discourse and hopefully stimulating further exchange between students, researchers, policy makers and practitioners.

It is fascinating that this collaboration came to life during a global pandemic, when travel restrictions made it impossible for students and staff to visit each other; to introduce their cities and work together in-person on-site and experience the places with all senses. The following pages document the enormous creativity with which students collaborated remotely — forming cross-Atlantic working groups using digital tools, video calls and producing videos, postcards, diagrams, interviews, maps and posters along the way to communicate their ideas. The process was exceptionally guided by two main instructors, one on each side of the Atlantic, Gladys Vasquez Fauggier and Scott Archer, who steered the process and compiled a strong framework of video lectures, digital workshops, design critiques and individual tutoring. It would not have been possible without the generous support from the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD) program for digital mobility for students during the pandemic. The collaboration is rooted in the Strategic Partnership between Virginia Tech and Technical University of Darmstadt, which has provided an invaluable stimulus and framework of support to develop joint research on urban planning over the years. This joint seminar has yet intensified this collaboration, involving students and their perspectives on both sides of the Atlantic, opening up many avenues how to study public life in the future.

Martin Knöll → Professor of Urban Design and Planning, Department of Architecture, TU Darmstadt Susan Piedmont-Palladino → Director of the Washington-Alexandria Architecture Center, Virginia Tech Ralph Buehler → Professor and Chair of Urban Affairs and Planning, Virginia Tech Research Center, Arlington

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Gladys Vasquez Fauggier & Scott Archer

The Course Four Theses Ahead → First, cities and societies are becoming rapidly diverse and therefore it is difficult to satisfy the citizens' needs with a generic and prevailing approach. → Second, empathy, embodiment, mindfulness and creativity are characteristics that are not (yet) developed by technologies, and thus, owned by humans. Yet, these characteristics must be trained in future city planners. → Third, research is a systematic technique that allow us to find holistic, integrative and sustainable solutions in design; future generations of designers and planners are up to develop and put into practice efficient research techniques. → Fourth, the future of cities comes with different perspectives and trends, driven by society, economy, politics, etc. We, as designers and planners, need to lead the development processes of our cities, enhancing critical thinking and avoiding simply following trends.

Concept Under these four theses, we designed the course “Comparative Urbanism”. An introduction to research in urban planning.

It was a seminar offered for architecture students of the Technical University of Darmstadt and the Virginia Tech in the spring 2021 with a focus on accessibility of public spaces, comparative urban studies and research techniques. Under accessibility we understand the capability of being inclusive regardless restrictive motoric and cognitive skills1 and aims to eliminate artificial restrictions on opportunities to use the environment2.

On this course, we embraced the term accessibility in all its forms: social, physical, and cognitive. Therefore, students designed and developed their own research project, focusing

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1 → Burton, E. & Mitchell, L.: Inclusive Urban Design. Streets for Life, Architectural Press, 2006 2 → Steinfeld, E. & Maisel, J. L.: Universal design. Creating inclusive environments, John Wiley & Sons, 2012

each on a different perspective of the concept: some focused on the physical aspect (infrastructure, physical barriers), others on the social and cognitive aspect (gentrification, socio-demographic differences, welcomeness feeling, cultural and institutional barriers), and some others mixed them all.

Additionally, the diversity of cases of study was high.

The selection of the two areas of research (one in Darmstadt and one in the Washington D.C.) had to have a degree of comparability among them in terms of typology, use, cultural and historical meaning, infrastructure, location within the city, etc. Students picked freely the typology of space to carry on their research, having at the end different scenarios and activities such as: plazas, parks, market places, alleys, streets, and roundabouts. The diversity of perspectives around the topic of accessibility, as well as the spaces and activities analyzed, brought interesting results and fruitful discussions during the course.

Procedure The seminar took place from March until May 2021, having collective and separated meetings in order to make the process efficient considering the different time zones. All meetings were held in digital form and the usage of several digital tools allowed collaborative work among the students and teachers. Students worked in tandems (2 students from Darmstadt and 2 from Washington D.C.) and developed a research project with the same topic but in two different locations (the city of Darmstadt and city of Washington D.C.) as two cases of study. This provided a simple framework to develope comparative studies, which in turn we hoped would optimize learning experiences.

The structure of the course was built in a way that the students enter step by step into the research process through different simple tasks: from observing a public space to creating research questions/hypothesis, selecting methods used in urban planning, gathering empirical data on site, analyzing the data and coming up with a conclusion. In addition, the structure of the course allowed for a wide spectrum from the individual to a collective work form.

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Welcome to

DARMSTADT

Prinz-Georg-Garten in Darmstadt

Greetings from Darmstadt!

I’m currently sitting on a nice bench in the Prinz-Georg Garden, the sun is shining and I was able to borrow a book from the library. It is so green here and there are so many different plants. I also see a lot of different people here: Kids with dogs, teens having a photo shooting, seniors looking at the plants and parents with their kids going on a stroll,… but I still see people in wheelchairs having problems with the steps at the entrances, or blind people having problems to navigate around the fountains.

See you soon!

Bernadette

GSEducationalVersion

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PLACE STAMP HERE

Workshop In addition, a workshop held by the brilliant Hansel Bauman from Hansel Bauman Architecture + Planning was included on the seminar focusing on inclusive design. This workshop explored the complex, almost intangible, challenges in making public spaces that foster welcomness and inclusion for ALL. On the workshop, students explored the interrelationship between the designer and their capacity to listen, to be empathic, and to translate and reflect back a novel/ appropriate design response to the user’s needs and point of view and the user’s ability to internally access and express their needs, values, and relationship to places of meaning within their everyday lives. One of the main outcomes were abstract illustrations which were developed following the reflective process from the individual to the collective construction.

Results Lastly, the seminar had as final output eight different posters displaying the final results of the comparative studies. Each poster, as mentioned before, has a different focus touching important aspects of accessibility, sometimes overlooked by city planners, and open new questions and perspectives for both cities. Still, we are aware that the web accessibility of the posters has to be adressed in future courses. The transatlantic dialog around creating accessible, inclusive and active public spaces for all was a successful practice in education and worth to promote.

Gladys Vasquez Fauggier → Research Assistant, Urban Design and Planning, Department of Architecture, TU Darmstadt Scott Archer → Adjunct Instructor, Washington-Alexandria Architecture Center, Virginia Tech

← For the second task, students designed a postcard of an open space of their cities and described the space from the point of view of accessibility. Credits (from top to bottom): Mona Koushkebaghi, Bernadette Lang-Eurisch, Hannah Gerules. → Example of the workshop outcome: from individual interpretations of meaningful objects in life to collective experiences. Credits: Audrey Bolesta, Dirk Münning, Maxwell Fuangaromya, Mariam Elhoussieny.

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Research Projects Hereinafter we present 8 project posters, each of them containing a comparative study between a public space in the Washington D.C. metropolitan area and a public space in Darmstadt, and in addition, interviews with some of the authors of the projects reporting their experience in the course.

Washington is the capital of the United States, a city characterized by its monumental and governmental buildings.

In addition, it forms part of a bigger metropolitan area including parts of the States of Maryland and Virginia, like the town of Alexandria just across the Potomac River. The city of Washington D.C. has a population of 689,545 and a density of 4,361.45/km2. In contrast, Darmstadt is a German city in the State of Hesse with a population of 147,150 inhabitants and a density of 1,150/km2. It is part of the metropolitan region around the rivers Rhein and Main, just half an hour by train away from Frankfurt.

Studying accessibility, inclusion and active usage of public spaces is a worthy endeavor in any city, independent of their size. The comparibility of the public spaces to study was essential in aspects as: type; size, form and topography; function(s); location within the city; cultural and social meaning; demographics and socio-economic status of the users; ownership/ accessibility; age of development; infrastructure.

↓ Gardinenstrasse Johannesplatz → Mathildenplatz →

↓ Mathildenhöhe ↑ Library square TU ↑ Marktplatz

Albert Schweitzer Park →

0 0.1 0.5 1km

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Darmstadt

↑ Georg-Büchner Platz

Washington DC

↓ Alethia Tanner Park Dupont Circle ↑

← Blagden Alley

↑ Enid A. Haupt Garden

George Washington Masonic Memorial ↓ ↓ Market place

Alexandria

Waterfront Park ↑

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0.5

1mi

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Wiebke Bartels, Abu Baker Siddique, Maxwell Fuangaromya, Paul Schmidt

Examining Public Space Through Visual Impairment → Visual impairment → Inclusive design → Orientation

→ Simulation and test walks

Georg-Büchner Platz, Damstadt

Waterfront Park, Alexandria

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What was your highlight of the seminar? → My highlight of the seminar was definitely the two day workshop that helped me to discover myself during the mutual drawing sessions and the introduction meeting in “Gather” (https://gather.town) to explore the University of Darmstadt and its people.

How was this course different from others? → The main difference to me was the course’s reading materials all over the semester. They were a good mix of relevant topics from contemporaries and classics, not only focusing on the conventional readings.

How was the cooperation in the international teams? → Because of the pandemic it was much easier to collaborate with the international teams, because of my habituation with the communication media already.

Interview with MD Abu Baker Siddique → Master Student at the Washington-Alexandria Architecture Center, Virginia Tech

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Examining Public Space Through Visual Impairment A critique of Georg-Büchner Platz and Waterfront Park Darmstadt, Germany/Washington, USA

80% of the world is being perceived by a perceptual person visually. There are no assured nu empirically collected numbers make it difficult to give a percentage on how many people are visually impaired. Expe blindness or low vision. In the US 13% of all adult Americans reported they either „have trouble“ seeing, even when we discuss about the accessibility for visual impaired (followed as VI) people on public spaces. For our comparative resear experience

Georg-Büchner Platz, Darmstadt

Georg-Büchner-Platz, Darmstadt is a vivid public plaza, located in the centre of Darmstadt next to the Staatstheater. The plaza was built in 1804 and renovated by the German architect Arno Lederer in 2012. There is no public transportation stopping directly at the place but within a 7 minute walk you can reach the Luisenplatz, one of Darmstadts main transportation hubs. An underground garage is located underneath the plaza which you can reach from 10 entrances that are imbedded in the architecture of the plaza. The Georg Büchner Platz is a common place to meet with friends, to spend the lunch break or a sundowner. People of all age groups and cultural backgrounds use the plaza.

From time to time there are temporary art exhibitions and demonstrations.

Research Methods Publications and Articles

Interviews

Simulations

We choose the used methods based on the analysis of our plazas and based on the first interview that we held with a b VR glasses to simulate loss of visual acuity. They had to orientate on the plaza and fulfill tasks. Afterwards we evaluat the sides with a blind person who had not been on the plaza before and evaluated it the same way. To conclude we inte

Results Test Walks Cobblestones irritate

Open staircase parking is dangerous

Surfaces sittingstairs disorientate

Obstacles just appear

Organic walls/plants disorientate

Transitions is not smooth

Arriving

Orientation

Surfaces

Feeling of Safeness

Final Score

6 out of 10

5 out of 10

5 out of 10

6 out of 10

6 out of 10

Conclusion Georg-Büchner Platz/Waterfront Park Coming from Luisenplatz it is no problem to access the Georg Büchner Platz. The Waterfront Park can easily be reached within a minute walk after dropping off the trolley. The bright white contrasting walkway helps to move through the park. Both sides have rough transition and also elements that are difficult to detect with a white cane. In Alexandria the dynamic public art plaza needs to be mentioned here. It is difficult to visually separate it from other surfaces when it‘s lightly colored. Whereas in Darmstadt you have obstacles standing out and often steps that are imbedded in gravel ground. The Waterfront park is full of unexpected slight level variations. Georg Büchner Platz challenges a VI person, unfamiliar with the plaza, with its surfaces such as cobblet stone or the change of grass and concrete.

All in all you can say that the noises coming from people, fountains or activities help VI people visiting the two plazas enormously. Both plazas have high quality to stay and with just a few improvements they could become more accessible for VI people. Such improvements could include a tactile model in the entrance, a well written online description and tactile indications on the ground for steps or the water.

Public Life Studies Comparative Urbanism Summer 2021

umbers on how many people in the US and in Germany are blind or with low vision. Missing erts in Germany conclude that there are about 12% of its population affe ted by one of the three major reasons for earing glasses or contact lenses, or that they are blind or unable to see at all. This background makes it important to rch we decided on the Georg Büchner Platz in Darmstadt and the waterfront park of Alexandria, which are both nice to 1 https://www.dbsv.org/aufgaben-ziele.html e visually.

2 https://www.dbsv.org/zahlen-fakten.html#ddr-zahlen 3 https://www.afb.org/research-and-initiatives/statistics 4 do the Cocid 19 we were only able to do tha in DA

Waterfront Park, Washington

The Waterfront Park is a destination point that sits at the foot of the Historic King street of the Old Town Alexandria. Formerly being a port of entry the place has been renovated into a waterfront public area starting from 1986. The current waterfront park is an example of modern urban design and is accessible by pedestrian, vehicular and public transport with a minute of walk. The park consists walkways, a plaza for public art installations, green open spaces with tree foliages and several seating features. Though the park s a tourist attraction for the old town visitors, it also works as a daily destination for the locals to jog, walk and roam around, as 75 percent of the population are considered as locals, living in the area for one year or more. The Park features the Site/See: New Views in Old Town which comprises temporary art installations which change throughout the year.

Scoring The Places

Test Walks

s

blind person. We decided to do test walks to understand the critical elements of each plaza. The testing people wore ted their experiences with a questionnaire and a scoring system. To understand the quality of the outcome we visited erviewed the blind test person with the same questions as the person of the first interview.

No differing composition of texture

No seamless transition

No caution of water edge

Indistinguishable steps

Contrasting water edge

Vague point of entrance

Arriving

Orientation

Surfaces

Feeling of Safeness

Final Score

6 out of 10

7 out of 10

6 out of 10

6 out of 10

6 out of 10

„When we are limited visually, we have to trust our other senses. It is always refreshing to walk in a cool breeze by the water or to sit on the steps and chat with a friend or to listen to music that is going on nearby. Both of our venues still have these experiential qualities even for a VI person. Our investigation and research points out the fundamental difficulties that are being experienced everyday and gives a way for the scope of improvement.“

Group 1 Maxwell Fuangaromya/Abu Baker Siddique - Washington Wiebke Bartels/Paul Schmidt - Darmstadt

Bernadette Lang-Eurisch, Dirk Münning, Brittney Sooksengdao, Kennard Taylor

Evolved vs. Designed → Urban design → Empathy → Public participation

→ Quality of the space → Usage of the spaces

Albert Schweitzer Park, Darmstadt

Alethia Tanner Park, Washington

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What interested you about the seminar? Why did you choose it? → I loved the theme of accessible urban design as a whole and was drawn to the topic first and foremost. Additionally I loved the idea of getting to connect with international students and learn collaboratively about urban design cross-culturally.

What new did you learn? Was there a particularly striking or surprising finding? → I learned a lot about varying ideas of inclusivity and inclusive design. It was striking to find how connected we all are as humans and our desires/needs cross culturally.

What was your highlight of the seminar? → The highlight of the seminar was how we conducted our survey — spending time at the park and talking to strangers/people to ask about how they felt about the park. It was truly a joy to get to connect and talk to people and learn of people’s opinions of the park. Additionally the highlight was working with our Darmstadt partners. And the empathy workshop was powerful... lots of highlights.

How was the cooperation in the international teams? → Honestly speaking, my team was one of the best team dynamics I have ever had with nearly 5+ years of higher education. Every member was constantly offering help and assistance and offered their expertise when needed. Could not have had a better outcome with the team I worked with.

What problems arose with a course between two continents, two time zones, two languages, two study systems? And how did you solve them? → Most challenging aspect of working with students from Germany was the time difference and how are schedules would align so we could discuss ideas in a fluid and natural way. Personally I felt defeated not knowing how to speak German and continually lauded our teammates for their proficiency in english. With any challenges in working together we would often break off into two’s or three’s filling in individuals who could not meet at certain times. In regards to language many moments we stepped back to allow communication in German as concepts or ideas did not translate as easily.

Interview with Brittney Sooksengdao → Master Student at the Washington-Alexandria Architecture Center, Virginia Tech

Interview with Kennard Taylor → Master Student at the Washington-Alexandria Architecture Center, Virginia Tech

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Evolved v Is an urban space more embraced by its users because it had time to evolve with its users?

o

Albert Schweitzer Park Established approx. 1850 - evolved in Darmstadt

Who are we em

47 %

7%

40-59

60-99

0

Visitor

12 %

20-39

Employee

13-19

Neighborhood

0-12

Student

Users

Local

User Ages

Empathy

11 %

23 %

How do the Transportation

70.8%

20.8%

Word of mouth

Research

By accident

Known

Discovered

4.2%

4.2%

0

What do t

0

What do t relaxing

more park regulation quiet nice for walks

ACTIVE

cleanliness small

long

more lighting at night friendly what is there

0

dog-friendly

green

lots of trees

activities narrow

what is missing

What do

Time Spent

Less than 10 min 10 - 20 min 20 - 30 min

05

Meeting with friends Just passing through Alone time Time with family Walking my pet Recreation

1 hour or more

What do they t Ratings

Created with you in mind

Neighborhood Park Safety

4 .1

yes

4.4

no

3.9

unsure

0

Concl Albert Schweitzer Summary Overall user sentiment: a longstanding, welcome expanse of greenery and trails but lacks care, maintenance, and some intentional programming - it’s users desire more care for the parks’s potential.

Alethia Designed with care = users feel c

Albert Sc Evolved over time with freedom = users fee

Conclu

Projec Empathy in the design + Empathy in the a

Public Life Studies / Comparative Urbanism | Spring 2021 | Brittney So

vs Designed

or

Is an urban space more embraced by its users if it is designed with empathy from the beginning?

Alethia Tanner Park Designed in 2016 in Washington DC

y Analysis

19 %

20-39 59 %

5%

40-59

60-99

13 %

4%

Visitor

13-19

Employee

0-12

Student

01

Users

Local

User Ages

Neighborhood

mpathizing with?

ey get here?

Transportation

67.3%

14.3%

Word of mouth

Live close

By accident

02

Known

Discovered

15%

4.1%

they see?

03

they say? welcoming

04 they do?

versatile

accessible family friendly

amphitheater

inclusive

CLEAN spacious

HIP PEACEFUL

more shade

NEW

more lighting at night what is there

open

public bathroom

curated

LIVELY

what is missing

Time Spent

5

Less than 10 min 10 - 20 min 20 - 30 min 1 hour or more

Meeting with friends Just passing through Alone time Time with family Walking my pet Recreation

think and feel?

06

Ratings

Created with you in mind

Neighborhood Park Safety

partially 4.2

yes

4.8 4.5

no

unsure

lusion

Tanner: cared for/positive user response

chweitzer: el potential for more/wanting user response

usion:

ction: analysis = users of the park feel cared for

ooksengdao, Kennard Taylor, Dirk Münning, Bernadette Lang-Eurisch

Alethia Tanner Summary Overall user sentiment: a welcoming and versatile community space to gather reflecting the care that went into the design - it’s users embrace the new park warmly.

Diego Andrade, Audrey Bolesta, Özge Tasar, Cihan Yusufoglu

Accessibility for Pedestrians → Mobility infrastructure → Public and private transportation → Accessibility

Mathildenplatz, Darmstadt

Dupont Circle, Washington

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0.5km

What new did you learn? → I learned how to formulate a research question and how to devise appropriate research strategies for it. For surveys, for example, I learned a lot about how best to formulate questions. Before the course, such points were difficult for me. I also learned a bit about video editing, which we didn't practice much before and will play a big role in presentation techniques in the future.

How was this course different from others? → The course was very flexible, organized, well thought out compared to many others. The supervisors, got back to me quickly. The introductory tasks were very interesting but at the same time not so complicated that one did not quickly leave the course. The idea of forming groups on Miro according to interests, without us really getting to know each other, I found very successful.

What was your highlight of the seminar? → My highlights were the group meetings, observations, counts, and the survey we conducted on site at our sites. It was interesting to see how many square users participated in the survey.

Although we thought no one would see it. This confirmed to us how much people care about their surroundings.

Interview with Haya Al Bitar → Master Student at the Department of Architecture, TU Darmstadt

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MATHILDENPLATZ - DARMSTADT

DUPONT CIRCLE

Mathildenplatz is a park located in the center of the city just behind Luisenplatz. It was built in 1850 and has a dimension of 50m x 150m. Surrounding it are administra ve, residen al and commercial buildings. It is in direct compe on with Herrengarten, which is just a few meters away. Four are the streets that de ne Mathildenplatz shape. All are really busy except for Gustav Lorenz Street. Luisenstr. is a two ways street and is used mostly by public transporta on. In Bismarkstr. and Bleichstr. we can nd the the highest speeds and bicycle lanes.

Dupont Circle is a circular-shaped urban park in t by busy streets and avenues. The key aspect of D instead of stop signs. The park has a 350 (110 enters links the park to adjacent streets with tra such as Connec cut Avenue, Massachuse s Aven Dupont Circle while the main tra c of Connec cu the underway.

Use Intensity

Speed

Use Intensity

Entries

Crosses

Entries

Public Life Studies/ Compata ve Urbanism

TU Darmstadt

CONCLUSIONS

- WASHINGTON

the center of Washington DC, surrounded Dupont Circle is that tra c lights are used meters) diameter with six enters. Each of c lights and sidewalks. The major streets, nue, New Hampshire Avenue, intersect at ut Avenue passes through Dupont Circle by

Speed

Crosses

- Virginia Tech

Research Ques on: How do private and public transporta on in uence the public space accessibility for pedestrians?

M A T H I L D E N P L A T Z

M A T H I L D E N P L A T Z

D U P O N T

D U P O N T

C I R C L E

C I R C L E Conclusions: In the case of Mathildenplatz it is clear that the issue of accessibility is one of the biggest problems of this space. The small number of entrances together with the posi on of the crossing points makes it a di cult place to enter (specially at entrance SE). A er doing the coun ng and surveys we realized that an important number of people use the park transitorily due to its posi on in the city. However, due to its una rac veness and lack of o ers, few pedestrians decide to stay.

We have discovered that Dupont Circle is a much more ac ve park than Mathildenplatz. On average, we found around 100 people enter Dupont during a fteen minute period, while only around 25 enter Mathildenplatz during that same amount of me. At Dupont, we found that both entrances from Connec cut were the busiest entrances, understandably since that is the largest and busiest street that intersects. In addi on, we found that north entrance from New Hampshire was also heavily u lized by ci zens, and cyclists in par cular. At Mathildenplatz, we found that the most popular entrance was the northwest entrance from Gustav-Lorenz-StraBe. Overall, we believe that the increased acvity around Dupont along with more transporta on op ons such as the adjacent metro stop made it more accessible and ac ve than Mathildenplatz.

Diego A., Audrey B., Özge T., Cihan Y.

Mariam Elhoussieny, Ingrid Husanu, Shelby Pollack, McKenna Reynolds

Welcomeness → Welcomeness → Quality and usage of public space

Mathildenhöhe, Darmstadt

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Washington Masonic Memorial, Alexandria

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What interested you about the seminar? Why did you choose it? Were your expectations met? → I have always been interested in learning to design at a larger scale. I was particularly interested in learning about how to create spaces that are welcoming to a diverse community. I certainly learned a lot!

I do have more questions now and want to explore the topic further.

What problems arose with a course between two continents, two time zones, two languages, two study systems? And how did you solve them? → With the language barrier, I was happy that we were using English because I don’t speak German; so we would sometimes have to slow down and explain things to make them more clear. I would love for this class to have a German language component!

It would be really cool to learn a few architectural words in German.

What new did you learn? Was there a particularly striking or surprising finding? → I learned a lot so it is hard to pick just one thing. The first thing that comes to mind is learning ways to promote our survey! We ended up getting a lot of feedback from people in the community and it reflected the demographics of the area fairly well. We used facebook groups, and most of our responses were from middle aged white women; I would love to learn how to get a more diverse set of responses for future projects.

Interview with Shelby Pollack → Master Student at the Washington-Alexandria Architecture Center, Virginia Tech

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Haya Al Bitar, Shayan Ghodousi, Ingunn H. Honne, Ameya Kaulaskar

Speed in Space → Methods in urban planning → Mobility → Speed

→ Usage of public space

Johannesplatz, Darmstadt

Dupont Circle, Washington

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Why did you choose the course? → I was extremely excited to collaborate with the students from a different country and following a different pedagogy. This is why I chose the course.

What was your highlight of the seminar? → The discussion with my team mates. It showed how we look at cities differently but still want similar environments as humans.

How was the cooperation in the international teams? → After having found the best way to reach one another (we used WhatsApp), we had a great communication and much fun. The meeting room idea (gather town) was a good idea, but somehow that didn’t work with us.

What new did you learn? → Finding your way through a jungle of ideas and methods and information. Well structured lessons with not to long information parts, good tools.

What was your highlight of the seminar? → The work with our fellow students. More of this, please, and also with non-western countries. We need to learn more about how other cultures and countries function so we don’t get stuck!

Interview with Ameya Kaulaskar → Master Student in Architecture & Urban Design, Virginia Tech

Interview with Ingunn H. Honne → Master Student at the Department of Architecture, TU Darmstadt

29

Astha Bhavsar, Mona Koushkebaghi, Valerie Kramer, Paula Tempel

Urban Alleys → Mobility infrastructure → Public and private transportation → Accessibility

Gardinenstraße, Darmstadt

Blagden Alley, Washington

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What was your highlight of the seminar? → The highlight of the seminar was the first weekend workshop we did where we had one-on-one conversations as well as mini group exercises. Using miro was also very helpful and successful. I wish we had done that earlier in the semester because I thought that was a better ice breaker than the gather town meeting we had.

How was this course different from others? → I had never done a sort of experimental research type group project through the lens of urbanism. It was structured in a very different way than any class I’ve ever taken.

What interested you about the seminar? Why did you choose it? Were your expectations met? → Actually, I would not have been in Darmstadt at the time the seminar took place, but in Mexico for a semester abroad. So, for me it was like a consolation when I heard about the seminar and an opportunity to get to know a bit of other cultures and ways of life after all – despite the pandemic.

How was this course different from others? → We had to spent a lot of time outside in the city observing people and their behavior in public spaces, then matched these results with partners, and spent comparatively little time at the screen generating visualizations and other things. I could finally concentrate on the analysis in urban planning in a relaxed and therefore thorough way, without having to “quickly check it off” at the beginning of a design studio.

What problems arose with a course between two continents, two time zones, two languages, two study systems? → One of the biggest challenges was communication.

Not linguistic communication, but non-verbal communication, which is often at least as important as verbal communication, especially in group work.

What was your highlight of the seminar? → The highlights were definitely the introductory event, the Gathering and the Workshop. Summarizing the seminar with a quote of one of the students during the final meeting: “This was one of the best seminars I have ever attended! Thank you for that!”

Interview with Astha Bhavsar → Master Student at the Washington-Alexandria Architecture Center, Virginia Tech

Interview with Valerie Kramer → Master Student at the Department of Architecture, TU Darmstadt

33

Urban Alleys

Analysis of Gardistenstrasse in Darmstadt, Germany and Blagden Research Question:

Support Questions:

Re

Is it fully accessible?

Defining an alley to find comparable locations

Is everyone welcome?

Do residents use the space?

Do Blagden Alley in Washington D.C. and Gardistenstrasse in Darmstadt perform well as neighborhood spaces?

Do the alleys work as meeting spaces Does the alley feel safe at any time of day?

Who is using it?

Which age groups?

Defining a good neighborhood space

Can users afford the amenities?

Gardistenstrasse

land usage map

Ex

Blagden Alley is located right outside of Downto southeast of Logan Circle. Blagden Alley’s history is e predominantly a working-class, black neighborhood. to upper-class people. It is well connected to public tra threat to pedestrian and bike safety. Most call it a “hi restaurants, and fancy bars in this alley.

Gardistenstrasse (meaning “guardsman” in English) Martinsviertel, right behind the Martins Church an developed for guardsmen in the late 18 century outsid and (pig) farmers. An old pig stable still stands today location, and cute shops, it is very popular today and

In English and German, an alley refers to “a narrow p as a utility corridor. Blagden alley is a connection of s is a narrow alley or “gasse” in German, with old cob space “is the area of a town that surrounds some Some characteristics include an overall sense of safe interaction spaces, access to public institutions/enter close proximity to public transportation with a focus o

lighting map

Comparison Both Alleys are in a mixed used area with mostly resid location there are different businesses with a wide p terms of land use and cost of programs. Restauran Covid pandemic our observation of these businesses two countries. Since we decided on Gardistenstrasse effect. In the U.S. however businesses are open and We have to take this difference into account when loc of people and mapping the movement.

50

40

Lighting We visited both locations at night time to evaluate t colored maps show the locations of overhead street li Throughout Blagden Alley there is a decent amount all overhead lights and there are none at the pedestri does not cover a lot of surface area. The west side of In Gardistenstrasse and surrounding areas, the stree corners. Some corners are only illuminated by a resta

30

20

10

0

movement map

individual movement maps + counts

weekday driving, biking, and walking counts

weekend driving, biking, and walking counts PARKING CARS BLOCKING THE POSSIBLEWALKING AREA

LIMITING THE NUMBER OF CARS, THESE SURFACES CAN BE OPENED UP FOR OTHER ACTIVITIES

2

1

2

2 INACTIVE SURFACES THAT CAN BE IMPROVED TO BE MORE ENGAGING

1 3

4 OPEN SPACE USED FOR PARKING

old pig stable

3

central walking path

4

Movement To find out how the alleys work as a neighborhood sp speed of both sites very much depends on the weathe In Darmstadt we split the counting to weekdays and days. In the graphs to the left you notice the main acti slow transit users as well as meeting users. In Gard riding their bikes freely or just walking around. This is In D.C. we observed that more people walked arou at dinner time, there were more people sitting at the There were a lot of cars that came through, making i that many of the parking areas were treated like dog p people would use front steps to shops as places to sit

Questionnaire (below) To have a more personal approach on the subject we we couldn’t see, map, or experience the variety of acti public life shifted a to the home and to privately ow meeting points of cafes and restaurants are closed a people in the alleys gave us an intimate inside look in At Blagden Alley we were able to conduct a few exp We gathered that trends were very different before Colombe Coffee Roasters mentioned they receive a with their ability to provide outdoor seating - an impo

lots of parked cars

The results of the questionnaire showed that most people feel safe and think positively about the area. Most people arrived by bike and foot and are between 24 and 73 years old. They tend to visit frequently and enjoy meeting people for longer periods of time.

People miss green spaces for benches and urban gardening, instead, it’s used as a transitional space for bikes.

Conclusion:

How can we return the public space “alley” in a city back to being used for multiple purposes by residents of the district rather than a Hypothesis: Alleys are a public space curated, designed and shaped over time by the neighborhood who surrounds it.

Potentials: They develop their own dynamics when the city planning leaves room for appropriation.

Identifying with a public space near your home gives a community feeling, which helps to keep it clean and organized. Simple and fr the neighborhood. Digital options like the app “Nextdoor” helps to connect people to exchange and sell goods as well as to find loc For example, “edible Darmstadt” is an incorporated association that promotes usage of public spaces as neighborhood spaces. The

Paula Tempel, Valerie Kramer, Mona Koushkebaghi, Astha Bhavsar Comparative Urbanism - Spring 2021 Diversity + Inclusion in Urban Design

n Alley in Washington D.C., USA

esearch Methods:

Summary:

Conclusion:

Mappings

Questionnaire

Movement Counts

Blagden Alley: mostly yes

Summarizing the results of the research Comparing and contrasting both alleys Finding similarities that work well for the neighborhood

No clear answer: Alleys are a public space curated, designed and shaped over time by the neighborhood who surrounds it.

Gardistenstrasse: mostly yes

xpert Questionnaires

Blagden Alley

own Washington D.C., north of Chinatown and embedded in gentrification and instability, and was . In the last decade, it has started to cater to middle ansportation but high car usage in the alley poses a idden gem” in D.C. and love to visit the coffee shop,

) is close to the Darmstadt city center in the district nd Herrngarten. It is in an old suburb which was de the town wall. Then it became home to tradesmen y. Many houses date back to 1818. Due to its central d has a tendency to gentrification.

passageway between or behind buildings” but also several alleys in a mixed-use block. Gardistenstrasse bblestones surrounded by houses. A neighborhood eone’s home, or the people who live in this area”. ety and inclusiveness, easy access to public parks/ rtainment, access to affordable groceries/food, and on pedestrian and bike friendly areas.

lighting map

land usage map

the lighting situation and safety aspects. The dark ights in both sites. of street lamps. The main problem is that they are ian level. Lighting is not as bright as it could be and alley has less lighting than east side. et lights are not as bright either and don’t cover all aurant.

entrances map

movement map

pace we looked at the movement. The activity and er on that day. d weekends to find out if it’s used more at different ivity is always in the middle of the day, with fast and distenstrasse we really noticed many small children probably due to the few cars and slow speed limits. und the alley in the mornings and afternoons, but e restaurants than simply strolling around the alley. it difficult to freely walk or bike around. We noticed parks, where dogs could roam without leashes, and t as there are no public seating options available.

driving, biking, and walking counts

dential houses. As you can see on the map of each price range. So both sites are structures similarly in nts are moderately priced. Though in times of the s like cafes and restaurants differ a lot between the the third lock down with nightly curfew has been in people are allowed to meet again in public sights. cking at the results of surveys, counting the number

walking map

biking and driving map

e decided to talk to different users of the alleys since ivities in the time frame given. During the pandemic, wned spaces like balconies and gardens. The usual and other group activities are restricted. Talking to nto the neighborhood connections and structure. pert interviews as businesses are back open in D.C. and after the pandemic started. The manager of wealthier demographic and that the cars interfere ortant feature to have with the pandemic going on.

old Tally Ho Stables

LOVE garage doors

central walking path at night

The results of the questionnaire showed a generally positive reception of Blagden Alley, with many people arriving by car and on foot who live in the neighborhood.

Those that visit arrive for a variety of purposes. The income level places survey takers at a middle-class standpoint.

Most of the people that visit the alley are between 25 and 50 yers old.

an anonymous parking and trash spots. Gardistenstrasse and Blagden alley could be a positive example on how to get started.

ree activities like neighborhood clean up, exchanging underutilized goods, or putting out books to give away, includes everybody in cal help and news. Alleys could also be used as green ‘oases’ in cities and help produce fruits and vegetables close to the consumer. ere are plenty of innovative ways to activate and enliven the alleys of Darmstadt and Washington D.C.!

Sources: Duden Dictionary, Cambridge Dictionary, City Lexicon Darmstadt, Google Maps, National Trust for Historic Preservation, National Parks Services, El Studio: The Washington Alley Project, In-Person Analysis: photography + videos, Birch, Eugenie L.: Public and Private Space in Urban Areas: House, Neighborhood, and City, 126.

Armond Dai, Yingjia Hu, Roya Saeidi, Hanqi Zheng

Event Spaces for the Elderly → Inclusive design → Aging cities → Events in public spaces

Marktplatz, Darmstadt

Market place, Alexandria

36

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What interested you about the seminar? Why did you choose it? Were your expectations met? → Students from different schools in different countries can work together to complete a small study, which is very interesting. At the same time, I was curious about urban planning in the United States, so I chose this course. Finally, the original course selection goal was achieved.

How was this course different from others? → This course required the cooperation of students from the two schools to complete a project, and with a time-zone difference between us. Besides, this was the first time I have seminar which was taught in English.

What new did you learn? Was there a particularly striking or surprising finding? → On the first few weeks of the course, I came into contact with the concept of inclusive design and took it into consideration in our subsequent study and research.

Interview with Yingjia Hu → Master Student at the Department of Architecture, TU Darmstadt

37

How can event spaces be safe, enjoyable an

A comparison between Marktplatz, Darmstadt and Market Place, Alexandr Why do we choose Event places & Elderly?

We started with talking about public spaces and what makes them popular. Then we agreed that events that usually held in the public spaces make them more popular.

After exploring and more discussion we agreed on Maketplatz in Darmstadt and Market square in Alexandria.

For next step we talked about different age of groups and how old age is a sensitive phase. Elderly people need care and comfort to lead a healthy life without worries and anxiety. During our discussion and analyzing public places, we are curious that how public spaces provide comfort for elderly people? Specifically, how much these two places are elderly friendly?

Marktplatz, Darmstadt Marktplatz is located in the center of Darmstadt. It is one of the oldest squares in Darmstadt, built between the 13th and 14th centuries. For centuries, Marktplatz has been the center of commercial life in the city. Nowadays, there is a weekly market on the square every Wednesday and Saturday.

In addition, important events on the square include the Heinerfest in July and the Christmas market in December. There are many shops, cafes and restaurants around the square. Before the epidemic, it was a very popular social place. In addition, the square is also the city’s transportation hub, and can be reached by multiple tram and bus routes.

Physical Environment and Events

Marktplatz, Darmstadt

Comparisons

Both Marketplatz and Market square have historical and cultural background that make t more interesting and popular during holding events, specially for elderly people. Althou been seen on weekdays in neither of the places. On the other hand, much more elder events. Market Platz is more accessible for elderly group because there is no stairs or sl stairs and slope to reach the square. On the other hand, Market square has more ameniti a proper lighting in the night that make the place bright, safe, and clear for visitors.

Age structure of the population in Darmstadt on 31. Dez. 2019 (in %)

Personality and Survival in Older Age: The Role of Lifestyle Behaviors and Health Status

Conclusions

Based on our research, older generation feels more connected to the areas because of make them more popular for older generation. Weather and pandemic disease affect the classes and live performing. During events, we saw more elderly group than non-event also effect on how elderly people show up. Based on our research, elderly people prefer t gathering places but a traffic place, because of the important buildings that are located had in surrounding areas. Many farmers market visitors distribute to other fun places nea

Reference https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1064748117303524 https://www.darmstadt.de/standort/statistik-und-stadtforschung/datenreport-2020/bevoelkerung

Pub

nd accessible for the elderly?

ria

Research Questions What do the elderly enjoy about public spaces?

How are event spaces typically designed?

How many elderly people occupy event spaces during different times of the day?

How long do elderly people stay in event spaces?

What do the elderly do in event spaces?

Research Methods Existing Research Mapping Counts Pictures & Observations

Market Place, Alexandria.

Market square is located right next to the city hall, and near the Potomac River. It is a real mixed-use, pedestrian-friendly community, offering housing, public parks, and many shops and restaurants. it is a space that encourages sociability and serves as a meeting place for couples and small groups. The farmers market on Saturday mornings brings together all sorts of different people from the area.

Many others event such as live music and live performances, yoga class and dancing usually held in this square.

Market Place, Alexandria.

them important places for big gatherings and important events like Christmas. Both are ugh Alexandria population is younger than Darmstadt but not many elderly people have rly people have been seen during farmers market and other events such as performing lop to the plaza, but market square is located almost 5 feet above ground and there are ies such as fountain, trees, sitting spaces, and public parking than Marktplatz. Both have

Age structure of the population in Alexandria (in %)

Comparison of the use of the square by the elderly

the historical features of both sites. Both sites surrounded by historical buildings and it eir function as event place. Many events are canceled during pandemic. Events like yoga time that means elderly people are interested in events. The time of events (Day/Night) the events that is happening during day. Both market square and marketplatz are not just around them like City hall. Finally, they are popular places also because of the fun to be ar these places like Waterfront.

blic Life Studies / Comparative Urbanism | Sommer Semester 2021 | Group 7: Roya Saeidi, Armond Dai, Hanqi Zheng, Yingjia Hu

Emily Ashworth, Hannah Gerules, Robert Hirsch, Eliezer Perez

Interdependence of the Public and the Institution → Institutional spaces → Usage of the space → Public space creation

→ Ownership → Inclusion

University library square, Darmstadt

Enid A. Haupt Garden, Washington

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What interested you about the seminar? Why did you choose it? → I was interested in learning an approach to gathering empirical data for architectonic design, which is something that is most of the time missing as base for our designs.

How was this course different from others? → Obviously getting to know new people was nice and it also was the first course in English that I visited at the TU Darmstadt.

Also learning how to set up a scientific study was interesting and not something you would learn in a lot of other courses at the architecture faculty.

What problems arose with a course between two continents, two time zones, two languages, two study systems? → The biggest problem I would say was that the course hit the Darmstadt and the Washington students in different phases of the semester. While for the Darmstadt students the course started at the beginning of the winter break and therefore it didn’t really feel as vacation, for some of the Washington students the final weeks of the course collided with their final master thesis.

Interview with Robert Hirsch → Master Student at the Department of Architecture, TU Darmstadt

41

Hannah Gerules, Emily Ashworth, Eliezer Perez, Robert Hirsch

PUBLIC LIFE STUDIES - CO

How does the interdependence of the public and the i The term "institution" commonly applies to both informal institutions such as customs, or behavior patterns important to a society (e.g. marriage), and to particular formal institutions created by entities such as the government and public services. The research project analyzes two public institutional spaces, a museum complex and a university, which both aim to give access to knowledge. In contrasting Enid A. Haupt Garden of the Smithsonian Institution and the space around the university library of the TU Darmstadt with control spaces of similar settings, we aim to find out how the interdependence of the public and the institution affects how spaces are created and used.

first female student Franziska Braun

founding of the Technische Hochschule Darmstadt opening of the main building

HISTORY Does the history of exclusion of public institutions inherently shape how spaces are experienced and used today?

Taxidermy studio built in South Yard.

The Haupt Garden was reserved as an open green area of horse grazing and casual strolling for Smithsonian visitors.

The 19th century was defined by scientific progress, during this time many scientific fields were founded. The focus on education is also noticeable in the founding of institutions such as museums, universities and hosptials. Issues of the appropriation of cultural goods of former colonies, the exclusion of women and BIPoC in science prevail to this day.

Although some progress has been made and the institutions are addressing some aspects of the discrimination, these issues are still noticeable to this day and become, for example, visible when looking at statistics of minority inclusions.

REPRESENTATION Are institutional public spaces an accurate representation of the community they serve?

Institution overlapping with the public space

1 1

Institutional Signage Institutional Art / Statues

2

1

Prohibition through design/signage

Signage of rules no dogs, no walking on grass, no biking allowed Fence to keep off grass

1

2

Walking on grass prohibited

ENID A. HAUPT GARDEN PROHIBITED AND INSTITUTIONAL MARKERS

ENID A. HAUPT GARDEN ACTIVITY MAPPING

Institution overlapping with the public space

University canteen Institute for Printing Machinery Display window University art forum University group “AKA Flieg” Public Library entry University bistro Main building secondary entry University bicycle repair shop Advertising column

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

8 8

Bollard prohibiting skating Sign prohibiting hanging unapproved posters

6 5 4

9 5

Prohibition through design/signage

Bollard blocking cars Bench design prohibiting skating Sign prohibiting climbing an art object Prohibition of using benches (Covid)

7

1

3

4

1 2 3

3 1

10 6

2

4 2 1

4 5 6

TU DARMSTADT PROHIBITED AND INSTITUTIONAL MARKERS

TU DARMSTADT ACTIVITY MAPPING

forbidden institutional

6%

institutional spa ce: T U other

tz

ng

playi

ng

ki wal

rollin g

nin

g

ing eantking i r d al rm ng fo sitti

total of persons c oun t e d : 30 4

ersons counted: l of p 281 tota

conversing

ary libr

control space: Fried ens pla

institutio

Da rm sta d

nd rou ta

king drinlcohol a g/ erin ing entleaivtution inst ing g ad in retudy s

In a next step it would be interesting to interview people at the spots and ask them what the space means to them and whether they feel welcome and included in the institutional space. Furthermore we would like to collect more data on the activites at the institutional spaces to further define our categories, especially the institutional and prohibited activities.

Due to Covid and bad weather circumstances the shown data can be seen as an indicator for usages but not yet as representantive.

activities

activities

ru n

What would be our next steps?

5%

SPACES IN DARMSTADT TOTAL ACTIVITY COUNT

14 %

activit

OMPARATIVE USBRANISM

11/05/2021

institution affect how spaces are created and used? the TU Darmstadt declares autonomy as the first university in Germany

student protests Friends of the TU Darmstadt is founded, who privately found money for the university

Opening of the new building for the university library

large parts of the university are shut down and put under control of the NS regime

the TU Darmstadt is given its current name

Victorian Garden in the South Yard Smithsonian Tennis Grounds behind Astrophysical Observatory on South Yard grounds.

Astrophysical Observatory built in South Yard.

South Yard is completely demolished to makeway for construction of the Quadrangle Complex.

Complexted Quadrangle Complex and updated Haupt Garden, including the new Nat’l African Art Museum, the Sackler Gallery, the Freer Gallery and the Ripley Center which are all connected via an underground series of spaces.

OWNERSHIP How does ownership and management impact the planning of the spaces and the involvement of the community?

2016

16

2017 2018

16

49

2019 0

500

1000

1500

2000

2016 2017

Friday evening

2018 2019 0

32 32 141

Sunday midday

200

300

400

500

Operating Budget in millions from 2016 - 2019 top diagramm: Enid A. Haupt Garden, bottom diagramm: TU Darmstadt federal appropriations

private sources

Both institutions are mainly funded through federal appropriations. While the private sources are relatively steady in Darmstadt, a rise in private funding can be noticed in Washington.

The building of the university library was commitioned through an international competition to Bär, Stadelmann, Stöcker Architekten BDA, the public was not involved. The planned reconstruction of Enid A. Haupt Garden by Bjarke Ingels Group (BIG) has been under criticism.

12

1

100

The TU Darmdstadt has different boards which partly allow student and faculty representatives, in 2019 the staff of the TU Darmstadt consisted of:

76

Friday evening

64 of 312 professors are women 687 of 2.617 academic employees are women 1.156 of 1.914 non-academic employees are women 32% women and 19% foreign students 24% women and 19% foreign doctoral candidates

18 5

Research (status: October 2020) 187

Thursday midday institutional activities

prohibited activities

The university library and art exhibitions are free to use, the cafeteria is rather affordable. In Enid A. Haupt Garden the museum entry is free as well.

general activities

forbidden

14 %

activities

Pla z

a

educational signage

wa lk

ing

aret g nt a eng me

ersons counted: l of p 109 tota

in not co for ntr bi ol dd spa en ce

oto phrapy al g rm iniftoting s

of persons counted: 33 total 5

wa d lki og run ng nin g

f sitorm tin al g

ties

control space: Cary le

Aside from Covid restricitions not many things are explicetly

.H au p

en ard tG

%

on the grass

g/ bikcionoter s

onal

institutional spa ce: E nid A

SPACES IN WASHINGTON TOTAL ACTIVITY COUNT

forbidden in german insitutions or general public spaces, however the design of the institutional space limits the options for activities other than the intended usage. In comparison there is a large discrepancy between the institutional space in Washington and the control space, for there are a lot of prohibitions. This leads to the conclusion, that in Washington the space is affected more by its institution than the space in Darmstadt, at least under the current circumstances with the Covid-Pandemic.

Sources: http://www.bss-architekten.de/portfolio/bibliothek-darmstadt-3/ https://www.tu-darmstadt.de https://www.ulb.tu-darmstadt.de/service/start/index.de.jsp https://www.chalabi.at/architektur/bildung/show/projekte/wissenschafts-und-kongresszentrum-darmstadt/ https://www.bpb.de/izpb/142117/1850-bis-1880

Valentina Višnjić Lang

Outlook More than ever, digital competencies are intrinsic to the future of work under the terms of increasing digitization and globalization. For urban planners and architects these skills have become indispensable. We believe that, adapting the, until now, teaching structures and models to the new post-pandemic era, towards a more digital, international, and interdisciplinary model, would bring students to gain practical knowledge in collaborating, negotiating and communicating across countries and cultures.

Furthermore, we believe that this course offered a low-threshold and inclusive access to cultural exchange.

Students, regardless of their financial or physical means, were given the opportunity to form and shape an international network in a self-determined manner.

This course offered as well for the first time the opportunity to deepen teaching experiences between the two universities and enabled a simultaneous and continuous exchange between professors, research assistants and students during the semester, which promoted an intensive professional discourse.

Finally, the course is a potential catalyst for future collaborations across continents. Looking into the future and due to the very positive experiences and feedback from the staff and the students, a continuation and further development of the conducted course is our goal, where the integration of new partner universities form further parts of the world is aimed for which further efforts are to be made. Thereby, an essential exchange on important topics on the field, such as sustainability, inclusion, accessibility, new forms of urban developments, etc., can take place in order to achieve a better understanding of cities and social developments all over the world and across cultures.

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Valentina Višnjić Lang → Consultant for Organizational Development and Internationalization, Deputy Management & Coordinator for International Relationships, International Office, Department of Architecture, TU Darmstadt

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Credits 12

Examining Public Space Through Visual Impairment Icons (modified) → https://pixabay.com/ Aerial photographs → Google Earth, https://www.google.com/intl/de_de/earth/

16

Evolved vs. Designed Icons → Noun Project, https://thenounproject.com (CreativeCommons)

20

Accessibility for Pedestrians Aerial photographs → Google Earth, https://www.google.com/intl/de_de/earth/

28

Speed in Space Aerial photographs → Google Earth, https://www.google.com/intl/de_de/earth/

32

Urban Alleys Streetviews → Google Streetview, https://www.google.com/intl/de/streetview/explore/

36

Event Spaces for the Elderly Photo of Christmas market in Darmstadt → https://www.echo-online.de/lokales/darmstadt/darmstadter-weihnachtsmarkt-ist-eroffnet_19261298 Photo of bicycle action day in Darmstadt → https://fahrradaktionstag-darmstadt.de/2019/09/01/fahrradaktionstag-2019/ Photo of weekly market in Darmstadt → https://dk.bergfex.com/sommer/darmstadt/highlights/20274-einkaufen-und-geniessen-in-der-lebendigen-innenstadt/ Photo of Heinerfest in Darmstadt → https://www.volksfeste-in-deutschland.de/heinerfest-in-darmstadt.html Photo of St. Patrick's Day parade in Alexandria → https://patch.com/virginia/oldtownalexandria/alexandria-st-patricks-day-parade-canceled-2021 Photo of Farmer's market in Alexandria → https://localharvest.org Photo of yoga class in Alexandria → Instagram, @nattiefaye Photo of art performance in Alexandria → Instagram, @rosetheharper Photo of live concert in Alexandria → Instagram, @dawn_the_tour_guide Aerial photographs → Google Earth, https://www.google.com/intl/de_de/earth/ Icons → Noun Project, https://thenounproject.com (CreativeCommons)

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Interdependence of the Public and the Institution Aerial view of Enid A. Haupt Garden 1877 → https://www.doaks.org/resources/cultural-philanthropy/enid-a-haupt-garden Photo of Franziska Braun → https://www.giersch-stiftung.tu-darmstadt.de/wissenschaftspreise/franziska_braun_preis/franziska_braun_preis.de.jsp Historic image of the Smithsonian Institution Building (Washington, D.C.) → https://www.si.edu/object/smithsonian-institution-building-southeast-view%3Asiris_sic_9182 Historic image of Taxidermy Studio → https://ids.si.edu/ids/iiif/SIA-NHB-6071/full/300,/0/default.jpg Historic image of astrophysical observatory → https://ids.si.edu/ids/iiif/SIA-76-15440-02_temp/full/300,/0/default.jpg Historic image of Victorian Garden → https://ids.si.edu/ids/iiif/SIA-76-15440-02_temp/full/300,/0/default.jpg Photo of student protests → https://www.tu-darmstadt.de/universitaet/index.en.jsp Visualization of university library in Darmstadt → https://www.agn.de/projekt/ansicht/universitaets-und-landesbibliothek-darmstadt Aerial view of Enid A. Haupt Garden 1987 → https://www.doaks.org/resources/cultural-philanthropy/enid-a-haupt-garden Source for operating budgets → https://www.tu-darmstadt.de and https://gardens.si.edu

All other images → by the authors. The publishers have made every effort to locate all owners of illustration rights up to the production deadline. Persons and institutions who may claim rights to images used are requested to contact the publishers.

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Imprint This publication “Comparative Urbanism. A Seminar on Designing Accessible Public Space in Washington, D.C., USA and Darmstadt, Germany” is the outcome of the project “Transatlantic Architectural Discourse”, funded by the program “IVAC - International Virtual Academic Collaboration” of the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD). → architektur.tu-darmstadt.de/transatlantic-discourse/

Published by Technical University of Darmstadt Department of Architecture El-Lissitzky-Str. 1, 64287 Darmstadt, DE → architektur.tu-darmstadt.de

Virginia Tech School of Architecture + Design Washington-Alexandria Architecture Center 1001 Prince Street, Alexandria, VA 22314 → archdesign.caus.vt.edu/waac/

Virginia Tech Research Center School of Public and International Affairs 900 N Glebe Rd, Arlington, VA 22203 → spia.vt.edu

Editing Gladys Vasquez Fauggier & Martin Knöll

Graphic design Anna Luise Schubert & Ingrid Husanu

Typefaces FrontPage Pro, Charter

Dr. Martin Knöll → Professor of Urban Design and Planning, Department of Architecture, TU Darmstadt

Susan Piedmont-Palladino → Director of the Washington-Alexandria Architecture Center, Virginia Tech

Scott Archer → Adjunct Instructor at the WashingtonAlexandria Architecture Center, Virginia Tech

Gladys Vasquez Fauggier → Research Assistant, Urban Design and Planning, Department of Architecture, TU Darmstadt

Dr. Ralph Buehler → Professor and Chair of Urban Affairs and Planning, Virginia Tech Research Center, Arlington

Valentina Višnjić Lang → Consultant for Organizational Development and Internationalization, Deputy Management & Coordinator for International Relationships, International Office, Department of Architecture, TU Darmstadt

Zora Schües and Katharina Hoff → Student Assistants, Department of Architecture, TU Darmstadt

Anna Luise Schubert → Research Assistant, Architecture Theory and Science, Department of Architecture, TU Darmstadt

Authors

Contributors to the course Dr. Sabine Hopp → Associate Professor, Urban Design and Planning, Department of Architecture, TU Darmstadt Hansel Bauman → Hansel Bauman Architecture + Planning

Brittney Sooksengdao → Graduate Teaching Assistant, WashingtonAlexandria Architecture Center, Virginia Tech

Students of the course Technical University of Darmstadt: Diego Andrade Wiebke Bartels Haya al Bitar Mariam Elhoussieny Hannah Gerules Robert Hirsch Inguun H. Honne Yingjia Hu Ingrid Husanu Valerie Kramer Bernadette Lang-Eurisch Dirk Münning Paul Schmidt Özge Tasar Paula Tempel Hanqi Zheng

Supported by Virginia Tech: Emily Ashworth Astha Bhavsar Audrey Bolesta Armond Dai Maxwell Fuangaromya Shayan Ghodousi Ameya Kaulaskar Mona Koushkebaghi Eliezer Perez Shelby Pollack McKenna Reynolds Roya Saeidi MD Abu Baker Siddique Brittney Sooksengdao Kennard Taylor Cihan Yusufoglu

Some rights reserved, 2021.

CC BY 4.0 International

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Comparative

Urbanism