About Density & Delight

Many of the most delightful and desirable places to live are high density.  Many people and activities in a small area. When you see a memorable  movie with character, narrative and wisdom; it is generally in the dense, intense layered city. (The suburbs tend to be documented in TV sit-coms…)

Despite this, there is much resistance to new high density developments.In Australia the term “high density housing” has negative connotations for citizens, councils and builders, and even for architects and developers.

My study is a valentine to the shared and daily pleasures and comforts of high density living.

The high-density image problem
High-density environments have the capacity to solve current crises of international housing shortage, housing affordability, lack of infrastructure and loss of arable land. But high-density developments are often unwelcome. low quality  high-density  environments  are routinely used as a backdrop for stories of urban strife and degradation. They are commonly seen as a necessary evil, a  technical solution to a numerical problem;  not as ideal human inhabitation.

On the other hand many people wish to live in cities where they can walk or bicycle to restaurants, cafes, parks, markets and museums. And scenes of big city life are also the chosen setting for movies depicting complex relationships of family, belonging and identity. In short, we want a high density of culture and services but are apprehensive of possible outcomes from high-density developments. Thus, new high-density buildings are generally unwelcome.

Some of the best built environments are high-density environments
“High Density Pleasure” is the record of a  international study tour of high-density environments that challenge many current perceptions by being highly desirable places to inhabit.

Selection Criteria
A range of ancient, twentieth-century and contemporary environments were considered. Venice was chosen; the most beautiful city in the world. Perugia as an ancient Italian hill town with an important regional and ceremonial role. Barceloneta as a compact and astonishingly dense quarter of Barcelona..  The Quartier de L’Europ in Paris was documented. “Piraeus”; a large dockside building in Amsterdam  as an exemplary contemporary project. “Hornbaekhus” an early 20th century block in Copenhagen was selected for the serene qualities of its generous courtyard. And the most recent project; “House 8”; a large, ambitious and well-publicised block in Copenhagen.

 

 

El Born, Barcelona, Spain

“Carrer Princesa”, El Born, Barcelona, Spain
High-density urban design and housing

Net density                           150 dwellings per hectare (plus retail)
Site density                           271 dwellings per hectare (plus retail)
Height                                     Four storeys
Built                                       1850s

 

 

Carrer Princesa
History frames daily life. Street as public living room. Hot sun strikes the beautiful stone façade rising above the London Plane trees. Precise cast ironwork and drop glass street-lighting adorn the arcade storey. Upper storeys are modelled with massive brackets and cornices to form a solid articulated continuous street façade. This stately metropolitan street could be in Paris or Buenos Aires.

Why Carrer Princesa was chosen
The generous amenity of this apartment block on Carrer Princesa is worth examining. While it has the lowest net density of any of the projects studied (refer Density Comparison Table), it has the highest density in terms of habitable rooms per hectare. Its density figure is also lower because the lower floors are commercial and not residential.

Urban design
The Carrer Princesa is part of a small quarter built at the time of the demolition of the Citadel and the building of the Parc de Ciutadella and the Market. It occupies a triangular block left over from the void between the old El Born and the new rectangular Park.

The dark passages of the Gothic and the miniature city of Barceloneta nearby are another world. The width of the Carrer Princesa is greater than the height of its buildings. It is a splendidly metropolitan and urbane place and was an area for the wealthy middle classes when built.

Planning
The apartment planning is similar to the Eixample plan shown in The Urban Housing Handbook1. The splendid naturally lit and ventilated stair serves two apartments off each landing. A mix of apartment types and sizes is not possible with a plan this deep without compromising cross ventilation. These large (175m2) 4-5 bedroom flats can however be occupied by families or by multiple occupants. Each apartment has one bathroom only.

Environmental
These big apartments are also very deep; 20 metres from north to south external walls. All rooms are naturally lit and ventilated by two large light wells that also cause acoustic problems. Under Australian Building Codes these light wells would be required to have fire protection measures. On a hot summers day in Barcelona the rooms lit by light wells are cool and quiet ( perfect for a siesta)

Materials and detailing
The rich and beautifully resolved ornament of the façade is reminiscent of the more splendid streets of Hausmann’s Paris.

Landscape and open space
Street trees have room to grow high, broad and healthy. The vast Parc de Ciutadella is nearby. Street balconies give privacy and permit incidental views up and down the street. The big private balconies facing the courtyard can be enclosed by the glass doors and permit indoor/ outdoor living.

Shared facilities and services
There are no communal facilities within the building. The El Born area though is rich with are shops, museums, markets, the park and other facilities.

Comments and conclusions
The apartments along Carrer Princesa contribute to the street and are a refuge from it. Lightwells are employed to provide good light and ventilation within a deep and inherently dark block. The beautiful and continuous facade is another example of quality architecture “anchoring” a neighbourhood.

Because of its generous proportions and amenity this apartment type is applicable over large areas of the city; it is a sustainable density.

Density Comparison Table

 

acknowledgements and thanks
Michael Zanardo; project mentor and source of knowledge.
Justin Brickle; video editor of Zeitgeist Films – jbrickle@netspace.net.au

In Barcelona
Nacho GomezDani Soler and Georgina Pujol

Footnotes and Bibliography
1 – Firley, Eric & Stahl, Caroline. The Urban Housing Handbook, John Wiley & Sons Ltd (England), 2009

Timelapse Music
Gidon Kremer (1996) Oblivion, Piazzolla ‘Hommage À Piazzolla’

 

 

 

Perugia, Umbria, Italy

Perugia
High-density hill town / city

Net density     Approx. 250-275 dwellings per hectare (plus retail)
Height             Four to seven storeys

 

Why Perugia was chosen
Perugia is a hill town on a grand scale, which has become a hill city. It was founded more than 2200 years ago and is now the capital of Umbria and a centre for university education. Perugia is popular with urban designers, tourists and also with writers and readers of the “My Year in Umbria” lit.

Comments and Conclusions
Perugia possesses the attributes required of a city by urban designers. It has defined limits and local and regional urban design and has been managed aesthetically. This is a pedestrian city with controlled vehicular traffic. Street furniture, signage and lighting do not deface its beautiful aspect. Pedestrian infrastructure is handcrafted. The absence of cars in Perugia allows vibrant human and cultural interaction. Anchored by magnificent ancient architecture, served by modern infrastructure, graced by a rich programme of cultural events; Perugia is a symbolic and actual landmark.  The dense, tall, ancient centre of Perugia has been maintained and integrated into the province, and is part of the bigger world, not a living museum. This ancient high-density living city glows with the polish of ages.

Barceloneta, Barcelona, Spain

Barceloneta, Barcelona, Spain
Street as living room

Net density                                349 dwellings per hectare
Site density                                700 dwellings per hectare
Height                                        four to six storeys
Urban planning                          Prosper Verboom
Built                                           1750-1900

Venice, Italy

Venice
High-density urban environment

Net density                  250-300 dwellings per hectare
Height                          4-6 storeys

 

Why Venice was chosen to study
Venice is a dream city to which tourists and photographers flock. Yet is has a density that is far higher than most developers would dare propose.

The most beautiful city
“Venice itself looms like a mirage, a dream city in the ether, (made of) coloured phantoms of buildings. When every self- respecting town was surrounded by… impregnable fortifications … the first impression of this metropolis must have been of an earthly paradise where fear was unknown…graceful arcades swarming with carefree people (and) large, lively market places opened out towards the sea.” 2

It remains a magical city of faded brilliance, the most beautiful and most romantic city in the world. Made of costly stones and floating, mirrored, above an azure lagoon; Venice, “La Serenissima”, appears in many stories. Ruskin and Italo Calvino exalted it. Thomas Mann, Evelyn Waugh and Henry James used it as a romantic and raffish backdrop for dissolute characters. And Muratori painstakingly mapped minor shifts in its canals and bridges

Comments and Conclusions
There is nothing on earth like Venice; a substantial high-density city without cars, their noise and pollution. The land is for people and the water is for boats. The absence of cars allows a quiet and calm presence of human culture and interaction. Venice has city limits defined by nature and suburban sprawl is impossible. Building has been well managed and beautiful buildings grace each parish. It may be a living museum but Venice is also the very image of a livable city.

 

Acknowledgements and thanks
Michael Zanardo; project mentor and source of knowledge.
Justin Brickle; video editor of Zeitgeist Films – jbrickle@netspace.net.au

Footnotes
1            E.M. Forster, Howards End, Ch. 2
2            Steen Eiler Rasmussen, Experiencing Architecture, MIT press, 1959, p.83
3            http://www.rpa.org/2011/06/spotlight-vol-10-no-10-how-venice-italy-resembles-any-old-city-usa.html
4            http://www.doorsofperception.com/sustainability-design/venice-from-gated-lagoon-to-bioregion/
5            http://www.treehugger.com/urban-design/what-its-live-city-without-cars.html