“Programming the Urban Surface" by Alex Wall

in “Programming the Urban Surface" Alex Wall clarify the real meaning of designing a responsible environment by being aware of the strong relation between the landscape and the architecture. I believe that the most important thing is how to restructure the environment by integrating all elements of design and making these elements in tune with one another. obviously, the landscape plays a major role in the image of the city so that it should never separate from the architectural process. otherwise you will end up with an object that is not responsible to the environment.

Programming the Urban Surface by Alex Wall

Alex Wall describes the evolving urban landscape as a network of infrastructure and transportation as opposed to the traditional view of cities as being urban centers with outlying suburbs and rural areas. It is the perfect example of why architects should look at architecture in the modern urban landscape differently than in a purely static form. It should be able to respond to unknowable factors and morph to adapt to future uses. There is also no longer a "clean slate" for architects to work from, rather a vast network of infrastructure to respond to. A predominant feature of the urban landscape is neglected or peripheral space between existing structure, and it is more necessary than before to transform these spaces into useable and desirable places.

Programming the Urban Surface by Alex Wall

These days, the project is about objects and elements are mexing together to get a form without any communicate with the environment. Working with the surface makes the projects connects with the Landscape and the City itself. The boundaries should be removed to get a strong relationship between the Architecture, the Landscape and the Urbanism and I think it's a good idea and a new way of thinking.

Urban Surface

In “Programming the Urban Surface”, Wall breaks down the term “landscape” as being not only about the plants surrounding the building, but also about the entire area to connect and interact with other parts of the city or surrounding space. I found Wall’s case study of the trolly line in Paris by Alexandre Chemetoff a great example of how an infrastructure can connect multiple places at one time through design and form new interaction with the space and the people who use the space.

At the end of his article Wall suggests different strategies for linking landscape and the urban plane. In particular, I found the principle of “folding” very relative to my current design. By folding the surfaces of the building I can allow interaction between multiple spaces by joining interior and exterior spaces and each of the spaces formed by the folding of the surface can be developed by the program. This strategy allows for the building to become more adaptable.

"Programming the Urban Surface" by Alex Wall is describing about how urban surface connects with architects and landscape. Architects address some elements to the environment and let their design fit with the site. I think that urban surface is the most important layer for architecture because it combines with plan of architectures and landscape, it lets everyone walk on it and walk through it from exterior to interior. Throughout the article, it shows several examples and strategies to explain how to sew up the urban surface. They let the surface be connective and have relationship between different places. they also create activities for people use, but programs are flexible at the same area. In that way, the urban surface will not be decentralized. Rather, it is a continuous network of reconstructing cities.

“Programing the Urban Surface” Everyone wants to create object buildings these days; something that will standout amidst the city. The problem with this is that more often than not we’re left with beautiful aesthetic designs that have no substance or connection to the community. The connection to the immediate site may be there, but the surrounding context and landscape must also be considered so the building can relate to the different cultures and history that form the region uniqueness. In other words as the reading tells us, the building is (should be) a result of the existing urban fabric and surrounding landscape i.e. the people the roads, the transportation, the parks, the rivers, so on.

Respond to reading "Programming the Urban Surface"

After Saturday lecture on mapping I was really confuse on what exactly mapping does in the creation of architecture, but after reading the article Programming the Urban Space, by Alex Wall it really helped me understand the importance of mapping. This article taught me that a building doesn't just belong to a site, it belongs to the city and it is really important that particular building help the city in its growth. "If the goal of designing urban surface is to increase its capacity to support and diversify activities in time--even activities that cannot be determined in advance--then a primary designing strategy is to extend its continuity while diversifying its range of services," So in designing the building we have to take into consideration the site, area around the building and think of the future. Usually when I design I would just of the direct site location but we have to really take into consideration the city because then a story is being told about the site. Architecture now is more than a building in a site, it really is the connection of all the community and the tool being used to help our society grow and develop.

"Programming the Urban Surface" from Alex Wall shows what urbanism and landscape mean today. Landscape should not be seen as a separate design. It should be integrated in the architecture and the designing process. Furthermore, architecture is not only design but more an instrument to create a relationship and a connection in terms of landscape and infrastructure.

I think, overall, the article shows that it is important to think above the limits and standards that exist in our society. We should look beyond these to develop and create more effective results.

Programming the Urban Space is being able to use the current conditions to create a continuous landscape that will be able to diversify itself through out time. The diversity is created to deal with a wide range of services such as traffic patterns, strangers paths, bus routes, retail, commercial business, etc.. The landscape can shape the programs organization by making it shift around if it's relating to the the urban landscape.

Posts on this blog

I can see more than half of the students have already joined this blog. I will encourage your thoughts on both articles (from James Corner and Alex Wall)and also use this as a forum to chronicle your creative process, should you feel like sharing with the rest of the studio.

Also, please make you post your original posts as posts, not comments. Comments are usually buried under an original post and are not highly visible.

Also, please feel use labels/tags on your posts so we can organize the posts better. For example, if your post is regarding James Corner's "Agency Of Mapping" article, please tag the author and article name so we can sort the posts easier as they accumulate.

I like the way of the author thinking of the urban and landscape design because he explained how to make them more active than before. I think the author have a good point when he talked about the integration of design elements rather than separated them. On the other hand it is difficult to start from a places that already had been taken their function and shape based on what they use for. I agree with the author about the idea of people, vehicles and goods are the elements that constitute the dynamic of the urban but I want to add where the people live and work are important to. In the articles koolhaas and OMA grab my attention because they used unusual solutions and designs for each project. This topic inspired me how to deal and think about what I will design in the future.

This is the Blog for ARH 608 at the Academy of Art. Please post your thoughts on the reading here. Be sure your posts are original posts, not comments. That way we can all see them.