Planning for the Return of Public Space
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Transcript of Planning for the Return of Public Space
Working Paper
Planning for the Return of Public Space Martin Haas
[INSERT FIGURE 1]
Increasing energy costs and the growing expense of personal automobiles have led
to a renaissance of inner cities. Now there is a growing demand for attractive, animated,
beautiful urban settings offering a variety of uses and lively neighbourhoods.
Once in urban settings, people who used to live in car-‐dependent areas re-‐discover
the advantages of direct contact and interaction with others. It is quite likely that the
dramatic technological developments in recent years, instead of depleting social capital,
may have actually spurred people to engage in more direct communication and personal
contact.
As living in inner cities becomes more popular, architects, planners, designers, and
all those involved with city-‐building have a tremendous opportunity to re-‐imagine cities
and have a significant impact on the cultures and environment of the world’s metropolitan
areas.
[INSERT FIGURE 2]
It is challenging to create the public realms that people are once again demanding,
since such spaces no longer occur as naturally as they once did. Almost a century ago,
public life and public spaces were created automatically. People were constantly
interacting in order to earn a living and survive.
Before the invention of the refrigerator there were no sufficient technical means to
store food. People left their private dwellings to go shop once or even twice a day, as
opposed to once or twice a week, as today. People also lived in far smaller spaces which
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forced them outside to complete household chores, work, and engage in recreation. Today,
roughly the average private dwelling space per person is 100 m², compared to 10 m² one
hundred years ago. Back then, public life was an automatic result of these living conditions
and had nothing to do with the quality of the public space.
With the invention of the car and other technical innovations that increased the
availability of privacy in the middle of the twentieth century, this hitherto “automatic”
public life began to shrink. But because many of those technologies continue to be in use
today, and because their long usage over the past century created conditions (e.g. dispersed
settlement patterns) that sustain their convenience, restoring that public life—making it
the sort of thing that happens automatically, virutally without thinking—is not so simple.
Today’s urban planners and architects must design spaces that offer activities and
attractions to motivate people to stay and use the public realm.
[INSERT FIGURE 3]
When we talk about animating public space, we have to consider several aspects
that matter in the planning process. It is essential that attractions and destinations are
offered that compel people to use public space and to stay longer than they perhaps
orginally intended. There must be a variety of activities addressing different user groups at
different times of the day. The objective should be to use the public space 24 hours per day.
Spaces need to be designed to be used during all weather conditions to ensure its use year-‐
round. These spaces need to be not only flexible but adapted to local environmental and
cultural conditions. These spaces need to be at home in the places they are located if the
public is to feel at home in them.
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[INSERT FIGURE 4]
Architects and planners need to create public spaces that are themselves active
participants in developing the cultural and aesthetic character of a place. Aside from
program mandates, “soft” factors such as beauty, emotional experience, and variety of
setting are essential in creating a high-‐quality urban space.
In our society we often talk about quantities, time-‐lines, and budgets, but the task of
the architect and planner goes beyond metrics. Is it a beautiful place? Does the place
address the senses? Does it offer an experience? Does it surprise the user? Does it offer the
individual person something special in his daily life? Are there nice vistas? Does daylight
play a role? Can nature be experienced? Does the place have a special character and
ambience making it unique from other places? Often such non-‐metric items can be small
interventions, but they are critical in creating viable spaces, spaces that encourage
interaction and exploration.
[INSERT FIGURE 5]
Sustainability is often defined by numerical statistics. But while energy consumption
per square metre per year provides an important measurement, it is also the qualitative
aspects of sustainability that determine the success of a sustainable building. No building
that is going underused is sustainable; no building that is going to waste is sustainable. So
while ensuring that our spaces conserve energy, we also need to ensure that our buildings
also conserve use.
Are there operable windows? Are there niches, places for a few quiet minutes? Are
there outdoor spaces which he can use? Does the building afford nice views? Were pleasant
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materials used? These features, along with others, affect how a building is used and
therefore, its efficiency.
Another important factor to consider when developing sustainable buildings is
flexibility. When we plan a building today, it must be flexible enough to adapt to our rapidly
changing society. Flexibility, high-‐quality public spaces, sequences of spatial solutions,
exposure to daylight, and the ability to individually control temperature are the aspects of
sustainability.
The IBN Institute for Forestry and Nature Research (pictured) was designed to be a
building whose operations would work in concert with nature. This is true not simply in
terms of its exterior design, which embraces the landscape by putting all putting all
perimeter spaces in contact with the outdoors, but in terms of its interior design and even
its building function. The indoor gardens function as successful public places, focusing daily
activities and providing informal meeting areas, but they are also an integral component of
the building’s energy concept, improving the performance of its external enveolope. The
project was realized within a standard budget demonstrating that durable and sustainable
building techniques can be applied without additional costs.
[INSERT FIGURE 6]
Having outlined a few general ideas advocated by our practice on the topic of
quality, city, and sustainability, I would like to explain our approach in more detail in the
context of one of our projects. In 2006, Behnish Architekten, created an urban
redevelopment plan for a formerly industrial area within Pittsburgh’s city center. The
Cultural Trust had asked for a plan to repurpose existing buildings and build new
structures into a vibrant residential and commercial district.
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[INSERT FIGURE 7]
Prior to developing the master plan, we conducted comprehensive micro-‐climatic
studies and explored the specific local conditions. Our team consisted of Behnisch
Architekten, Gehl Architects from Copenhagen, WTW from Pittsburgh and Transsolar.
We spent months surveying existing conditions to help us generate the master plan.
These climatic analyses enabled us generate building massing that capitalized on natural
ventilation, thereby limiting the need for mechanical ventilation and air conditioning. The
left-‐hand diagram shows the building massing when the sun is directly overhead. Sun and
shadow studies helped us determine what time of day and in which season buildings are
exposed to the sun.
These analyses helped us to understand the site before designing the urban space.
There are numerous examples of public spaces that may have been well designed in and of
themselves but have suffered from inattention to the micro-‐climactic aspects of their
particular site. One example is the Arche de la Défense in Paris, a well-‐designed urban
space in the abstract, but one obviously designed without knowledge of the winds crossing
through the site. The result is a place which is very difficult to use throughout much of the
year because of the strong prevailing winds. Town planning must take such micro-‐climatic
conditions into account.
[INSERT FIGURE 8]
The site is located right next to the Allegheny River. We immediately saw a great
opportunity to re-‐knit the citizens of Pittsburgh with the river. Right now, the city is
separated from the water by a highway. The river, once used as a vital industrial transit
route, has not been used in decades. We proposed connecting the site to the river with a
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grand staircase and a large bridge crossing the highway. Once the city is reconnected to the
river, there are several options for recreational activities, attractions, and transportation
alternatives. For example, a water taxi service could be offered to transport sports fans to
the Pittsburgh Steelers Stadium across the river. Aside from incorporating several sports
and recreation areas, we also proposed a floating stage that could be used for performances
throughout the summer.
[INSERT FIGURE 9]
When we talk about an active, usable outdoor space, we talk about integrating many
different attractions on a small space. We avoid creating mono-‐structures with long,
uninterrupted façades. Human generally only perceive the first ten meters of a façade and
the higher parts of the façades are irrelevant for most users. Therefore we sought to vary
the façades with several entrances and differentiated materials, streetscaping, and street
furniture. Aside from a new boulevard leading from the city center to the water, the entire
riverfront is a pedestrian zone.
[INSERT FIGURE 10]
We had to reuse old industrial buildings within our plan for the city block. The
Union Building, a wonderful old brick building, will be redeveloped as a theater and serve
as the center of the proposed development. The urban space between the buildings is
designed to attract a variety of uses. The spaces are designed with a keen sense of human
comfort. The buildings will provide minimal shade in spring and autumn, season when
many people enjoy being outside in the sun. Water features will cool the area, creating a
micro-‐climate, during hot summer months.
[INSERT FIGURE 11]
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We intended to create a three-‐dimensional garden town. All south-‐facing facades
have sun collectors and photovoltaic cells. We proposed green roofs which reduce the heat
island effect. The apartments and offices have thermally active floors powered by a
geothermal heat pump.
[INSERT FIGURE 12]
The Pittsburgh example shows that one of the important tasks of the future is
integrating and reusing existing buildings in urban redevelopment plans. In general, the
superstructures, the shells of existing buildings, are in good condition, so it is only
necessary to renew the facades and the interiors. These tasks can often trigger a process of
technical innovation.
The benefits of reuse can be seen in a project in Hamburg where we had the
opportunity to deal with such a situation in great detail. Hamburg’s Chamber of Commerce,
an institution with a long tradition, owns a classical building with three large halls. One of
these halls, the former stock exchange, has not been used since 2003. The competition brief
called for a concept providing for the re-‐use of this hall and the accommodation of several
new functions within the Chamber of Commerce. We proposed a very light, very
transparent, very immaterial architectural sculpture which, by contrasting with the
existing classicist hall made of stone, made a fascinating appearance.
[INSERT FIGURE 13]
Since natural daylight does not adequately illuminate the hall, a key element of the
redesign of the Hamburg Chamber of Commerce was artificial lighting. Together with
Nimbus Design, we had the opportunity to develop new SMD-‐LED technology-‐based
luminaires which are 90% more efficient than usual luminaires.
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To create vibrant, sustainable cities and neighborhoods, we will have to develop
high-‐quality buildings in urban environments with state-‐of-‐the-‐art environmental
technology, while considering the human scale and creating viable spaces for future
generations to play in and to adapt to their future uses.
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13. Planning for the Return of Public Space Martin Haas
Figures
Figure 1. A lively urban neigborhood.
Figure 2. The challenge to create high quality urban spaces. Source: Gehl Architects
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Figure 3. Animating the public realm by creating attractions, activities, protection from weather, density, spaces for diverse user groups, and urban living rooms.
Figure 4. When it comes to the well-‐being of the user, the quality of the space is key.
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Figure 5. IBN Institute for Forestry and Nature Research
Figure 6. A vision for Pittsburgh
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Figure 7. Tools for conducting mirco-‐climatic studies of the site
Figure 8. Features of the waterfront park
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Figure 9. Each circle above represents the size and importance of a building entrance. Many entrances used by different users, ensure a critical mass of people throughout the day
Figure 10. Schematic plan of the public spaces shows a variety of destinations and attractions.
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Figure 11. Rendering showing the various surfaces that will have vegetation.
Figure 12. Interior of the Hamburg Chamber of Commerce
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Figure 13. Interior of Hamburg’s Chamber of Commerce showing SMD-‐LED technology
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