BOOK READING REVIEW 1

                This book by Jah Gehl titled ‘LIFE BETWEEN BUILDINGS’ was first published in 1970. It identifies the problems of architecture and city planning that documented the period of 2006 and it explains the importance of designing urban public space with the use of people as a guiding principle.

I read chapter 1- 4 of this book and I felt each chapter is relevant to the Broad mash project because they explain the importance of urban intervention.

 Image by Jan Gehl

Chapter 1

This chapter looks at the three types of outdoor activities which are necessary activities, optional activities and social activities. All this activities place different demands on the physical environment. The picture below copied from page 10 shows the three types of activities that would be summarized in this chapter.

 Necessary Activities (top view) – These activities involves a greater/lesser degree of people participation such as going to school, shopping, waiting for a bus, running errands or distributing mails, it takes place throughout the year under all weather conditions. People do a lot of street walking and as a result their incidence is slightly influenced by physical framework.

Optional Activities (middle view) - These activities takes place under favorable exterior conditions such as taking a walk to get some fresh air, sitting, sunbathing and standing around and enjoying life. This activity is important to physical planning because most of the recreational activities that are especially pleasant to pursue outdoors are found in this category. When outdoor areas are of poor quality only strict necessary activities occur but when outdoor areas are of high quality necessary activities takes place with approximately the same frequency though they clearly tend to take a longer time because the physical conditions are better.

Social Activities (bottom view) – These activities occur spontaneously and depend on the presence of others in public spaces such as children at play, Communal activities of various kinds’, greetings and conversations and passive contacts. Different kind of social activities occur in many places such as dwellings, balconies, private outdoors, gardens, public buildings and place of work. They develop because people are in the same space, meet, pass by one another or are merely within view.

Image by Jan Gehl

This image copied from page 26, shows activities and seating preferences, also, it shows how sidewalk cafe are been perceived all over the world with the cafe chairs facing the street life.

This chapter also explains the need for contact of life between buildings, by creating opportunities for meetings and daily activities on the public spaces of a city or residential areas. It explains possible access of contacts at other levels such as how play activities among children starts through birthday parties and arranged play groups in schools. From these simple levels contacts can grow to other levels as participants wish. Physical planning influences the extent and character of outdoor activities. Therefore it is possible through planning decisions to influence patterns of activities to create better or worse conditions for outdoor activities or to create lively or lifeless cities.

Chapter 2

In this chapter, Jan Gehl explains the prerequisites for planning and the patterns used in Copenhagen, Denmark.

He explains the importance of planning spaces because the physical framework can influence the in-habitation of social situation. The physical framework can be designed so that the desired contact forms are impeded or to give a broader spectrum of available possibilities. This is a means for Architects or planners to prevent or promote isolation and contact.

Image by Jan Gehl

The image below copied from page 62, explains the differences between Isolation and Contact.

          

Isolation                                                                                           Contact

·         Walls                                                                                  No walls

·         Long distances                                                                 Short distances

·         High speeds                                                                     Low speed

·         Multiple levels                                                                 One level

·         Orientation from others                                                Orientation towards others

Chapter 3

In this chapter, Jan Gehl explains city and site planning, he considered certain aspects like to assemble or disperse, to integrate or segregate, to invite or repel and to open up or close in. These are essential elements of planning that contribute to people’s enjoyment of public spaces. These elements remain very constant even as architectural style’s go in and out of fashion and the character of life between buildings changes.

Chapter 4

In this chapter Jan Gehl explains the significance of planning spaces for standing, walking, staying, sitting, seeing, hearing and talking. He describes how spaces were observed and used. Also, he proposed that public spaces can create a safe urban place by making them desirable and therefore occupied rather than abandoned. The communication between people through looking and listening is a vital consideration that Architects and Urban Planners and Designers must have.

Conclusion

Generally this book focuses on Copenhagen and other cities in Denmark. It is a must read book for Architects/Planners because it explains the failures and reactions to modernism principles of urban planning. This book looks at the spaces between buildings, plazas, streets and other open spaces of the city and how their design affects people and vice versa. This book was interesting and educative therefore I would like to recommend the rest of the group to read this book.