Responsive Environment
Responsive Environment
Responsive Environment
ENVIRONMENT
INTRODUCTION
What is this book about?
Demonstrates the specific characteristics that make for
comprehensible, friendly and controllable places.
As opposed to the alienating environments often imposed today
By means of the sketches and diagrams, it shows how they may
be designed in to places or buildings
Most concerned with the areas of design which most frequently
go wrong and impresses the idea that ideals alone are not enough
Ideals must be linked through appropriate design ideas to the
fabric of the built environment itself.
DESIGN CONTEXT
CHAPTER 1 : PERMEABILITY
CHAPTER 2 : VARIETY
CHAPTER 3 : LEGIBILITY
CHAPTER 4 : ROBUSTNESS
CHAPTER 5 : VISUAL APPROPRIATENESS
CHAPTER 6 : RICHNESS
CHAPTER 7 : PERSONALISATION
1.0 PERMEABILITY
The number of alternative ways through an
environment
2.0 VARIETY
Purpose
Refers to the range of uses that a place provides,
for example, housing, shopping, employment and recreation.
2.1 Three Different Levels Of Variety.
A place with varied uses has varied building types of varied
forms.
Attracts varied people, at varied times for varied reasons.
Different users interpret the place in different ways: it takes on
varied meanings.
2.0 VARIETY
2.2 Variety And Choice
The purpose of promoting variety is to increase choice.
Choice also depends on mobility people, who are highly
mobile can take advantage of a variety even if these are spread
over a wide area.
2.0 VARIETY
2.3 Similarity And Different Among Developer And Planner
Both of them want efficient environment but for developers they are
interested in economic performances while planners want places
which are easy to manage.
Variety within Variety
district is within
reduced, as blocks is
they become reduced, as
specialized sites are
zones of amalgamate
single use. d into larger
units.
2.0 VARIETY
Variety within buildings is reduced
in the interest of easy management
and corporate image.
2.0 VARIETY
2.4 How To Maximize It?
Based on demand by the people.
Affordable space to house this activities.
The design encourage positive interactions
between them.
2.4.1 Demand
Most development agencies, public as well
as private, concentrate on a relatively small
range of uses for which an obvious demand
exist.
2.0 VARIETY
2.4.2 Affordable space
To encourage variety we must keep
rents and purchase prices low.
2.4.3 Subsidies
Using some profitable element
within it to subsidies other uses
which cannot afford an economic
rent.
2.0 VARIETY
2.5 Design Implication
Old buildings should not automatically be kept
Their layout should be appropriate to the uses concerned.
Their condition should be suitable for upgrading to an
appropriate standard for the uses concerned at cost which they
can afford.
2.5.1 Interaction between activities
(a)Mutual support
act like a magnets, attracting people to a site.
2.0 VARIETY
(b) The time element
They are obviously helped if their
associated primary uses also draw
people into the area over a long
period.
(c) Feasibility
(i) Functional feasibility
Some uses are incompatible
because of factors like noise or
traffic generation. These cannot be
located close together.
2.0 VARIETY
(ii) Political feasibility
Whenever the pattern of uses proposed departs either from
accepted norms or from local planning policy, agreement from
the local authority will depend at least partly on evidence of
public support for the uses put forward.
(iii) Economic feasibility
Its economic value when completed must be greater than or
equal to the cost of producing it.
3.0 LEGIBILITY
Legibility is defined as how the qualities of the built
environment make a place understandable.
Legibility is important at two levels : Physical form and Activity
pattern
Physical Form - Place may be read at either level separately. For
example, it is possible to develop a clear sense of the physical
form of a place, perhaps enjoying it only at an aesthetic level.
Activity pattern - Equally, patterns of use may be grasped
without much concern with form. But to use a place’s potential
to the full, awareness of physical form and patterns of use must
complement one another. This is particularly important to the
outsider, who needs to grasp the place quickly.
3.0 LEGIBILITY
Cultivating a dynamic and exciting community center or
hierarchy of centers that most people can "read" intuitively,
is perhaps the most important of the urban design
principles. When applied to a city or town, "legible" means
that people from the same culture have an intuitive sense of
what is coming next and how to navigate; they can "read" their
surroundings.
3.0 LEGIBILITY
3.0 LEGIBILITY
3.1 Paths
Paths are known as channels of movement – alleys, streets,
motorways, railways and the like – and many people include
them as the most important features in their images of the city.
3.0 LEGIBILITY
Urban pathways go by many names, including bikeways, trails
and greenways. Some pathways take on myriad forms; one
“trail” can actually be a combination of shared-use paths,
connecting sidewalks and on-road bicycle facilities that
compose one linear route.
3.2 Nodes
Nodes are focal places, such as junctions of paths: examples
extend from roundabouts to market squares.
3.0 LEGIBILITY
3.3 Landmarks
Landmarks is a prominent or conspicuous object on land that
serves as a guide, esp. to ships at sea or to travelers on a road;
a distinguishing landscape feature marking a site or location.
In contrast to nodes, which can be entered, landmarks are
point references which most people experience from.
3.0 LEGIBILITY
3.4 DISTRICT
Districts are sections of the city, usually relatively substantial
in size, which have an identifying character about them.
3.0 LEGIBILITY
3.5 EDGES
Edges are linear elements which are either not used as paths,
or which are usually seen from positions where their path
nature is obscured.
Wall is an example of the first type, whilst the second includes
elements like rivers, railways viaducts and elevated
motorways.
3.0 LEGIBILITY
3.6 Path Enclosure
Enclosure also can be increased by
planting.
A sense of enclosure is routinely praised
as a way to provide shelter from the
elements, to provide a semi-private
realm that feels like an outdoor living
room, and to provide a sense of
security due to the continuous or near-
continuous building line creating
‘defensible space‘ and the overlooking
buildings providing natural surveillance.
4.0 ROBUSTNESS
Robustness is a place which can be used for many different purposes offer users
more choice than places whose design limits them to a single fixed use (Ian Bentley
et al.). In other words a design which have a multi purpose use.
WHY IS ROBUSTNESS A PROBLEM?
How the design will be look alike its depends on the whoever pays for it, patron.
They are not interested in promoting user a choice.
HOW TO ACHIECE ROBUSTNESS?
4.1 Robust Family House
4.2 Preferred Building Configuration
4.3 Active Building Fronts
4.4 Interiors: Large-scale Robustness
4.5 Interiors: Small-scale Robustness
4.6 Housing: Private Gardens
4.7 The Edge Of The Space
4.8 Busy Vehicular Streets
4.9 Shared Street Spaces
4.0 ROBUSTNESS
4.1 Robust Family House
Floor area of a house affect the large-scale robustness
Robustness create a opportunity to enlarge the house as a
whole
Figure: Robustness is supported by cheap straightforward construction and Figure: Step by step to achieve robustness
providing more space for a given cost Source: Responsive Environments (1985), Chapter 4.1, page 61
Source: Responsive Environments (1985), Chapter 4.1, page 61
4.0 ROBUSTNESS
Figure : At least 4 metres is needed to allow pedestrian access Figure : Detached houses offer more possibilities for extension than do other
Source: Responsive Environments (1985), Chapter 4.1, page 61 types.
Source: Responsive Environments (1985), Chapter 4.1, page 61
4.0 ROBUSTNESS
4.2 Preferred Building Configuration
The large-scale robustness of a building depends on these
three key factors:
- Access
- Depth from window to window
- Height
Figure : Leave the rest of the space uninterruppted, so that it can easily be subdivided in many different ways
Source : Responsive Environments (1985), Chapter 4.4, page 65
4.0 ROBUSTNESS
4.5 INTERIORS: SMALL-SCALE ROBUSTNESS
Small-scale robustness concerns with the ability of particular
space within the buildings. This is the most relevant scale of
robustness for ordinary user. It also has a direct effect on the
day-to-day choices most people can make.
Figure : Create as many rooms and activities as possible of the space provided.
Source : Responsive Environments (1985), Chapter 4.5, page 66
4.0 ROBUSTNESS
4.6 Housing: Private Gardens
Outdoor space which is private, within the perimeter block,
greatly increase the robustness of the surrounding buildings,
particularly when these contains housing area.
Gardens robustness is also affected by broader design issue.
Figure : View towards Riquewihr, France Figure : View towards 5th Arrondissement, Paris, France. There are many
Source: http://mediacdn.tripadvisor.com/media/phots/01/b4/73/8c/riquewihr-architecture.jpg building activity.
Source :http://www.pps.org/graphics/gpp/street_rue_mouffetard_large
4.0 ROBUSTNESS
4.8 Busy Vehicular Streets
Major activity in the central parts of public spaces is vehicle
circulation.
Vehicle must not inhibit other users of the space. Footpaths
have a complex role to play in supporting pedestrian use
against the inhibiting effects of vehicular traffic.
Figure: The width of the pedestrian movement zone must be appropriate Figure: Pedestrian movement must be made easy access to avoid danger
Source: Responsive Environments (1985), Chapter 4.8, page 71. Source: Responsive Environments (1985), Chapter 4.8, page 71.
4.0 ROBUSTNESS
4.9 Shared Street Spaces
Streets can be made robust enough for the space to be shared
by vehicles and pedestrians.
Figure: Shared space principle should be more than 500 metres from a normal vehicular Figure: Narrow road to reduce vehicle speed
street. Source: Responsive Environments (1985), Chapter 4.9, page 72
Source: Responsive Environments (1985), Chapter 4.9, page 72
5.0 VISUAL APPROPRIATENESS
6.0 RICHNESS
Richness involves some ways to increase the choice of sense
experiences which users can enjoy. It is design to stimulate our
senses thus giving up great experiences for both physical and
mental.
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6.0 RICHNESS
Image 4 : The smell of breads being baked always tell us there is a bakery shop Image 5 : Coffee shops also gives out the sweet coffee smell from the
nearby. coffee brewing activity.
6.0 RICHNESS
6.5 Sense Of Touch (Non-visual Richness)
Touch is both voluntary and involuntary in character because
we can easily move our hands to touch something.
Richness for surface texture could be packed into smaller
spaces but the variety of air movement and temperature should
be reserved for large spaces. For example, when the cold
breeze or hot sun beam projected to our skin.
7.0 VISUAL
PERSONALISATION
CONCLUSION
Does the method effective?