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Figure 6.16
The Loggia, Piazza Grande, Arezzo.
Arcades and colonnades provide a handsome and
sheltered setting for casual dining and social
interaction. These half-indoor, half-outdoor spaces
are valuable urban design tools for creating lively
urban places.
Figure 6.17
Residential stoops at 400, North Church
Street, Charlotte, NC, FMK architects, 1997. The steps
tumbling to the street from the elevated first floor
apartments serve to connect the public and private
realms, while the difference in level maintains the
necessary detachment for private living spaces. The
porches and steps provide visual interest to the
streetscape, while the ground floor walls mask
private car parking.
Figure 6.18
Townhouses, Mint Street, Charlotte, NC,
1998. The repetitive rooflines are dramatic, and bring
a sense of appropriate scale to the row of houses
without being fussy and over-ornamental.
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5. Proportion of Solid to Void: Permeability of
façade created by the ratio of windows and doors
to solid walls [Figure 6.22. Atherton Heights].
6. Location and Treatment of Entryways: Rhythms,
scale and spacing [Figure 6.23. 5th and Poplar].
7. Exterior Materials: Range of materials of adja-
cent buildings [Figure 6.24. Hearst Plaza].
8. Building Scale: Compatible size and configura-
tion [Figure 6.25. Infill housing, London].
9. Shadow Patterns: Visual interest created by pro-
jections and setbacks [Figure 6.26. 400 N.
Church Street].
10. Landscaping: Defines space and ties buildings
together [Figure 6.27. Gateway Village plaza].
Large buildings create special problems for the urban
designer, but if their massing and façades are handled
properly, buildings bigger than those in the surround-
ing context can be successfully integrated into 
the townscape. The key is to break down the bulk of
the new building into a composition of vertical and
horizontal elements. A rhythm of vertical bays is
especially useful in this regard. The design of build-
ing façades usually means creating more vertical
rhythms rather than horizontal ones, and articulating
the façade vertically (by projecting or inset bays,
design detail or color) creates the sense of human
scale we want in the streetscape – especially when
viewed in perspective (see Figure 6.28).
CHAPTER SIX
●
URBAN DESIGN IN THE REAL WORLD