UBD368 Urban Design

If there's an occupation that I'd enjoy doing that would be an Urban Designer. I love the idea of visualising environments and putting it down in written form.

At the beginning of the year, there was a lot of group work, which really tests a lot of people. But, you have to realise that the end result is that everybody has a vested interest in completing the assignment.

I heard a lot of stories about how this subject has been run in the past, but my attitude was that i have had a great appreciation to the development of spaces and places. Both in a private commercial realm but also for the creation of public spaces.

As we moved into the middle of first semester, things felt like that the time spent was very effortless, until crunch time with assignments. Best rule: If you know what's coming up, be prepared.

The final assessment was the best as it was a solo project. It was a breeze as I knew what I was going to work on.

UDB369: Negotiation & Conflict Resolution

Well the new year starts. All of my nervous energy is now directed towards goals and sheets of paper with words and images attached in meaningful ways.

I love conflict. I love arguments. I love being correct and having the information to back me up. I'm rarely wrong but I do admit to being wrong on occasion.

I don't trust what other people say unless they know what they're saying, well, mostly to what they say has to have an element of truth. If that wasn't the case, I'd distrust their actions completely.

Let the arguments begin :)

2011: A New Hope

Well,

It's a new year and I'm all wizzed up and ready to go for another year. It's time to get serious and keep focused. Stay tuned :)

DEB200 - Introducing Sustainability -The End?

Just got an email saying that if you didn't pass this exam you fail the course. So 50 multiple choice questions, with 25% of the total course. Does that somehow sound loaded? Exams have never been my strong point, and, in real life exams do not exist. There is no time that I needed to work out something in several different areas and only to be said, yep, that'll pass. No. Things in real life require time, and thought. Time constraints are really things we put onto ourselves. Time is money, just not the time under a time frame that dictates success in 75% of your work.

DEB200 - Introducing Sustainability Group Assignment: Bendee Downs

If you hadn't already heard, there's a lot of work involved in studying. The time taken to lean and regurgitate the information seems to be insurmountable, but at the end it works out ok.

Our main assignment (report) was in conjunction with Engineers with out boarders, a group that apply university level students at real world problems. The site was at a place called Bendee Downs, located in Queensland South West. We had to create a "Eco Tourist" resort, which in my mind is still an oxymoron. The report it self was broken up into different areas, being a cultural centre, camp sites, walking trails and star gazing. Other activities included spear throwing, boomerang throwing and story telling. I felt uncomfortable about dictating the activities that to me seemed culturally insensitive, what is to say that one activity is appropriate over an other.

I also saw difficulties in sitting buildings, as I felt their had to be a spiritual map that showed areas that had significance in the landscape. Other difficulties where transportation, as flying or driving there was a negative aspect. We added to the idea of creating a adventure trail, or package that would end up at the site. The site also had two air strips, both that needed maintenance.

The overall strategy of the assignment, and the presentation where both executed by our team fairly successfully and was good to end on a high note. Just wished I had a bit more time to work on a few other features.

DEB200 - Introducing Sustainability

I'd have to say that this subject was equally complex as Stewardship of Land. I found it odd that the lecturer couldn't handle the fact that they where teaching 1,400 students, and that the university saw it fit not to customise the subject. Now, with two weeks before my big exam, I'm in the process of swallowing a horses pill.

INTRODUCING SUSTAINABILITY DEB200

It's interesting to note the amount of people travelling to see the beginning of the Riverfire festival yet after the fireworks, 500,000 people left which took about two hours for things to settle down.

I wonder how sustainable it is for people to travel in such inefficient terms as to get into a car, travel for half an our, watch an event for an hour or so and travel again another half hour. So you spend as much time, if not more in travelling to an even that you watch using no or little energy to start with.

I guess it's a theory of time management v having fun :)

INTRODUCING SUSTAINABILITY DEB200

Sustainability these days seems to be a key phrase that is bantered around as much as Nuclear was around in the 1980's. This current hot button is better thought of and used than the older term, environmentalism. Unfortunatly this term has conitations of the "Tree Hugging Hippy" and of extremist views and actions. Although I don't believe this to be true, in terms of marketing sustainability has made it's mark in defining environmentalism has ever been dreamed of.

In introducing sustainability, it is another subject that appears to be easy, but deep down is quite complicated and litigious. It's themes of observation in the first assignment (essay) where to say, quite open ended but the main focus was to establish the idea of being awake in your environment.

Perceptions of the environment are hard to observe, and these concept and points of view are even harder to understand fully without appreciating a historical use and habits. Just like a goat track is formed in a field because of the topography, peoples movements and uses through the environment have impacts that are unforeseen and unaccounted.

Can these be be analysed by using semiotics within the landscape? Does the impact of using the same road for 500 years imply sustainability or is it just a sociocultural belief in this is what has been done so we don't need to change. Is sustainability about change?

Block analysis of West End

I have chosen West End as my analysis topic. I have selected this as the area appeals to me in terms of use, vistas and connectivity (See Figure1). There are (+-)86 blocks located in West End with another 33 blocks located over the river bringing the total to 119. The block size runs from around 425sqm (Small lot) to larger parcels of land at around 4.25ha. The amount of intersections is a surprising 184 with only 54 across the river totalling 238. There is a main road that runs parallel to the river, and one that goes East geographically centred in the middle.




















Figure 1




















Figure 2

In Figure 2, the overall appearance of the street layout appears to either be running along the River or it forms a setback. Also, the lot sizes are larger along the river and the streets fall back roughly from the river instead of being relative to a more traditional North-South/East-West relationship.



















Figure 3

There is a predominantly smaller block size in Figure 3 compared to the areas in Figure 2. These follow the cardinal directions with main streets/roads following these as well but a main road that leads from the Northern part to the South Western corner runs parallel to the river. The Yellow section has roads that run in opposite to the other streets. This area is dominated by the river that curves to the right of the site. Florence Italy. When I overlay the map of West End I was surprised by the similarities in the street block sizes and the use of blocks further away from the river. The distances between major roads is also similar.


















Madrid Spain.

The regular pattern blocks are common to West End. Long wide roads that cross to open areas. Brisbane 1884 Historical.Showing this map of 1884 shows why the layout of West End has arrived to it's current destination. You can see that some land use has been allocated to being to a storage area, and the density increases along the other side of roads.In 1895, you can see a further development of the previously regulated area, with downsizing of lots which would indicate an increase of population density.















Brisbane 1895.

Conclusion.
There are many reasons to know about the layouts of cities and their footprints. It gives a feel for the urban fabric in terms variety of what might work if you have some of the pieces of the puzzle scattered all over the world, and, it's a matter of transferring these to create a matrix of styles and design layouts.One thing that I can't digest is the fact that this type of analysis only is a slice from the ground foot prints down. It doesn't show use, character, diversity or any other indicators. But, in understanding variety of civil street layout and what we can perceive as being a form of structure and it's historical uses.

References:
Jacob, A. 1993. Great streets. Cambridge: MIT Press.

Google Map of West End Area: http://maps.google.com.au/maps?f=q&source=s_q&hl=en&geocode=&q=west+end&sll=-27.936181,153.017578&sspn=13.836006,28.54248&ie=UTF8&hq=&hnear=West+End+Queensland&ll=-27.480482,153.017793&spn=0.027184,0.072098&t=p&z=15 (Date accessed 16/04/10)

McKellar, A. R. McKellar's official map of Brisbane & suburbs [cartographic material] 1895. MAP RM 3036. http://www.nla.gov.au/apps/cdview?pi=nla.map-rm3036-c2-e (Date Accessed 18/04/10)

[Moreton 20 chains to an inch : sheet 1B [cartographic material]by Queensland. Surveyor General's Office Brisbane : Surveyor Generals Office, 1884. http://www.nla.gov.au/apps/cdview?pi=nla.map-rm3046-e (Date Accessed 18/04/10)