The Urburb
The Venice Biennale is arguably the most significant event on the architectural calendar, and in the months leading up to it, stories of upcoming exhibitions showcasing new critical, technical and formal strategies are bound to be released. A particularly interesting critical analysis caught my attention, discussing the issue of being “neither urban nor suburban” (Merin, 2014), coined, through the merging of two obvious terms, the urburb.
Much like other preconceptions of urbanism, I feel that this concept similarly presupposes that increasing density will inevitably lead to a ‘better’ and more ‘sustainable’ lifestyle, simply because of our hopes in centralisation. This exhibition in my opinion has identified two core paradoxical issues fundamentally hindering the designer’s quest for ecologically respectful design. In a short statement, the ideology of the urburb is described as “to create small egalitarian communities while accommodating large and diverse populations…and to reconnect the land but through a planning system that treats the surface as a blank sheet of paper” (Merin, 2014).
Herein lies two problems which have trickled down from the time of Le Corbusier’s city machines. Egalitarianism and a tabular rasa approach to urban planning has meant that suburbs and homes are built irrespective of culture and of place. Without these two core elements, a home becomes merely a house, it is an uncomfortable space which does not respond to its environment and can therefore not become sustainable.
Lush Green Parks maybe everywhere but are they really signifying a sustainable urban landscape? (Merin, 2014).
Images of Israel's Urburbs as part of the Venice Biennale 2014 (Merin, 2014).
Within the images from this exhibition for example we see two typical urburbs, pristine and full of green parks and landscaping. While this may purport a sense of natural greenery, it must be acknowledged that this is a city of the Middle East, in the desert, where no natural cover is provided and where apartments tower with layers of glazing. The result of this in my view would be a hugely draining and unsustainable urban suburb, drawing in electricity which it needs for air-conditioning and pumping in water for the unsuitable flora.
Interestingly enough, this approach is not a new one. Post-colonial India’s first planned city, Chandigarh, a model of the Modernist ideal by Le Corbusier faces similar problems, with its “…wide open spaces…not hospitable in the scorching summer or chilly winter” (Burte, 2010). Here it can be seen in my view that ideology has taken precedence to culture, in a place where temperatures soar to over 40 centigrade and where traditionally “…winding, disorderly traditional streets…were shaded by buildings…” (Burte, 2010) formed the original and most suitable typology.
Problems of Shading: Palace of Assembly in Chandigarh, India (Wikipedia)
Today, designers it seems have simply decided to “…turn to air-conditioning to solve problems created by the desire for a modern image…” (Burte, 2010) and for me, the solution to all this therefore is a reminder of place and its significance. Design begins with a consideration of conditions and from there a logical process of understanding the site. Only then can architects begin to develop solutions which are not merely an exercise in copying generic typologies, but genuinely creating adaptive and suitable urban apartments which respond to climate and can make our beliefs in urban density actually work.
References
Gili Merin. “Venice Biennale 2014: Israel Explores the Urburb – Neither the Urban Nor Suburban Landscape.” (Published: 13 March 2014). Retrieved Online 14 March 2014 Via: http://www.archdaily.com/486059/the-israel-pavilion-at-the-2014-venice-biennale-urburb-neither-urban-nor-suburban/
Himanshu Burte. “Is Chandigarh a Model City?.” (Published 30 January 2010). Retrieved Online 14 March 2014 via: http://www.business-standard.com/article/beyond-business/is-chandigarh-a-model-city-110013000061_1.html
Images of Chandigarh obtained via:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chandigarh