URBAN DESIGN

DETERMINANTS OF
URBAN FORM

SUBMITTED TO: SUBMITTED BY:

AR. SWATI BEHL AKUL SHARMA (14005)
HARSH CHAUHAN (14026)
NIKHIL DHIMAN (14041)
SAHIL GUPTA (14049)
VARUN KUMAR (14070)
 INTRODUCTION
 Urban form is defined as the physical characteristics that make up built-up areas, including the
shape, size, density and configuration of settlements.
 It can be considered at different scales: regional, urban, neighborhood, block and street.
 Urban form evolves constantly in response to social, environmental, economic and technological
developments; planning, housing and urban policies; and health, transport and economic policies.

Urban Forms Of Different

Cities
Inroduction|Urban Form 2
 LANDFORM

DETERMINANTS CLIMATE
SYMBOLISM OF URBAN FORM

ACTIVITY MATERIALS
PATTERN AND
TECHNIQUE

Introduction|Determinants of Urban Form 3

 Landform
• Landform is a natural feature of the solid surface of the Earth or other planetary body.
• Landforms together make up a given terrain, and their arrangement in the landscape is known as
topography.
• The physical features of landforms include slope, elevation, rock exposure, stratification and rock type.
• Typical landforms include:

Mountains Plateaus Deserts, Valley

Shorelines Plains
Landform|Introduction 4
• Landforms are important to designers because they often place substantial limitations on the location,
intensity, and character of urban development. For example, in some areas it is difficult or expensive
to build because of steep slopes, extensive rock formations, or the presence of water; in other
locations, it is dangerous to build because of natural hazards such as flooding, landslides, earthquakes
hazards or shoreline erosion.

Aerial View Of Venice, Italy Aerial View Of Mexico City

Landform|Importance 5
Venice
• The city of Venice (Venezia in Italian) is built
on 117 small islands in the Venetian Lagoon,
in north-east Italy. The islands are separated by
canals and linked by many small bridges.
• Most of the buildings in Venice are built on
wooden piles that are hundreds of years old.
People used to get water from wells in the
lagoon but this was banned when it caused
some buildings to subside or sink into the
mud. The city is still threatened with knee-
high floods every autumn called Acqua Alta or
'high water', although floating pontoons are
being set up at the entrance to the lagoon to
hopefully stop them.

Landform|Venice 6
Mexico City
• It is located within a valley surrounded by
hills to the west, north and east; the lower
region of the valley is composed mainly
of grassland that receives less rainfall than
the upper regions of the south;
• The upper southern region is a
mountainous region of pine and oak trees
known as the range of Ajusco.

Landform|Mexico City 7
• On the other hand, landforms often identify opportunities because they may show locations that are
most suitable for urban development, areas suitable for the exploitation of natural resources (through
farming, mining, and forestry), or areas where the natural features are of such ecological importance
or social value that they should be preserved.
• The earliest cities appear to have been built in areas where it was easy to grow crops. This often meant
that their locations were on or adjacent to the flood plains of rivers such as the Nile, Tigris, Euphrates
and Indus.

Indus Valley Civilisation Nile Valley Civilisation

Landform|Importance 8
 climate
• The composite or generally prevailing weather conditions of a region, as temperature, air pressure,
humidity, precipitation, sunshine, cloudiness, and winds, throughout the year, averaged over a series of
years.
• The climate in the city is dependent on factors such as land use, building geometry and building
materials.
• The rapid changes in temperature, wind and humidity generated by the urban landscape influences
comfort and health of the people as well as energy consumption and air quality.

Climate|Introduction 9
TYPOLOGY Arid Semiarid

Dry

Warm
summer Wet and
Wet (rain
Cool forest) dry
summer

Continental Tropical

Climate
Subarctic Monsoon
(boreal)

Mediterranean
Polar
Ice cap

Mild

Tundra Humid
Marine subtropical

Climate|Typology 10
DRY CLIMATE

 These are arid and semiarid areas

that have three main characteristics:
very low precipitation, high
evaporation rates that typically exceed
precipitation and wide temperature
swings both daily and seasonally.
 e.g Sudan, Iraq, Africa etc.

Climate|Dry Climate 11
CONTINENTAL

 Areas with continental climates have

colder winters, longer-lasting snow,
and shorter growing seasons. They
are the transition zones between mild
and polar climates. Continental
climates experience extreme seasonal.
 e.g. France, Belgium, Italy etc.

Climate|Continental 12
TROPICAL

 Tropical is a non-arid climate in

which all twelve months have mean
temperatures of at least 18 °C
(64 °F). In tropical climates there are
often only two seasons: a wet season
and a dry season.
 e.g. Chittagong , Kochi, Male etc.

Climate|Tropical 13
MILD

• Areas with continental climates have

colder winters, longer-lasting snow,
and shorter growing seasons. They
are the transition zones between mild
and polar climates. Continental
climates experience extreme seasonal.
• e.g. France, Belgium, Italy etc.

Climate|Mild 14
POLAR

• The polar climate regions are

characterized by a lack of
warm summers.
• Every month in a polar climate has
an average temperature of less than
10 °C (50 °F). Regions with polar
climate cover more than 20% of the
Earth.
• e.g. Anatartica.

Climate|Polar 15
JAIPUR CITY
 Jaipur has a hot semi-arid climate .
 Most rains occur in the monsoon months between June and September.
 During the monsoon there are frequent, heavy rains and thunderstorms, but flooding is not
common.

Climate|Polar 16
JAIPUR CITY
 Jaipur has a hot semi-arid climate .
 Most rains occur in the monsoon months between June and September.
 During the monsoon there are frequent, heavy rains and thunderstorms, but flooding is not
common.

Climate|Polar 17
 MATERIALS AND TECHNIQUES
 As discussed above an urban space depends upon the landform and climate of an area,
hence to develop the urban space building materials and techniques play an important
role.
 According to the climate of a place the building material is adopted so as to provide both
climatic as well as economical relief.
 Different climate demand for different materials and construction techniques.
 For example, an area such as Himachal according to its climatic conditions require
materials like stone, wood etc. To overcome the harshness of the cold weather.
 Whereas if we are to apply the same thing in a place such as Rajasthan having hot climate
the results would not be that great.
 Moreover, the materials and techniques adopted in a place add to the culture and tradition
of a place and even become a symbolic asset to the place.
 For example use of red/pink sandstone in Jaipur resulted in its name of “the pink city”.

Materials and Techniques|Introduction 18

DESIGN CONCEPT FOR PRECAST CONCRETE BUILDING
 Prefabrication is the practice of
assembling components of a
structure in a factory or other
manufacturing site, and
transporting complete assemblies
or sub-assemblies to the
construction site where the
structure is to be located.

Materials and Techniques|Design concept for precast concrete building 19

Types of precast system

Large-panel Systems Frame Systems Lift-slab Systems Mixed System

 Prefabricated design has come to be known as a fast, green, and cost-efficient way to
create buildings.
 Although this technique has most prominently been used with small residential structures,
it’s now taken a turn towards greater, larger projects.

Materials and Techniques|Types of precast system 20

Rural House In Spain

 The finished home is modern in its construction but the finish fits aesthetically with its old
fashioned rural surroundings.
 The base four modules are cubic, with the angled top four joining together to form an
asymmetrical gabled roof.

Materials and Techniques|Rural House In Spain 21

Rural House In Spain

 The cores of the modules are composed of galvanised steel sheets clad in thin vertical wooden
slats. The elements were welded together at the joins in situ, and black slate tiling was added by a
local craftsman.
 Sustainable materials were used in the construction and the house is designed to be energy
efficient. Should the owners wish, the house can be taken apart and moved to a new location.

Materials and Techniques|Rural House In Spain 22

Traditional Houses Jaisalmer

People of Jaisalmer live in fort . Now many of houses have been converted into shops.

 They use the golden stone for construction.

 Don't use any mortar , they make bond by using scissors in between the golden stones.
 The golden stone is a soft stone hence, very nice carvings could be done over it

Materials and Techniques|Traditional Houses Jaisalmer 23

Construction Techniques In Himachal Pradesh
 Planning and design of buildings in a
hill settlement are the challenging task
due to difficult terrain, steep gradient,
adverse climatic conditions, rich flora
and proneness to natural hazards.
 In response to these harsh development
conditions, numerous vernacular
practices and styles have evolved with
local materials and indigenous
techniques to fulfil the needs of people,
which cause minimal damage to
environment and are sustainable.

Materials and Techniques|Types Of Construction Techniques In Himachal Pradesh 24

Materials and Techniques|Types Of Construction Techniques In Himachal Pradesh 25
Roofing Styles Adopted In Hilly Regions

Materials and Techniques|Different Roofing Styles Adopted In Hill Regions 26

Shimla(Kath-Kuni)
 This indigenous tradition of construction reflects excellent sustainable and earthquake-
resistant building techniques using local materials and human resources.

Materials and Techniques|Shimla(Kath-Kuni) 27

 This type of wall construction involve laying two wooden wall beam longitudinally parallel
to each other with a gap-in-between.
 The space between two members is filled with rubble stone and edge is secured with
kadil(wooden nail).

Materials and Techniques|Shimla(Kath-Kuni) 28

Materials and Techniques|Shimla(Kath-Kuni) 29
 SYMBOLISM
 Symbolism is the practice of representing things by symbols, or of investing things with a symbolic
meaning or character.
 Urban symbolism expresses itself through different phenomena, such as the layout of a city,
architecture, statues, street and place names, poems, as well as rituals, festivals and processions;
 Another strand consists of myths, novels, films, poetry, music, songs etc. all of which can be called
symbol bearers.
 Many cities have multiple symbol bearers, of which one is usually the most dominant.

Statue Of Liberty, Burj Khalifa, Sydney Opera House,

New York Dubai Australia
Symbolism|Introduction 30
 The symbolic structure of a city is of great importance for its identity and image.
 Urban symbolism forms an extensive and multiple part of urban life as well as the foundation for
the attraction of the city.
 The history of a place can be used to strengthen the economic side by extending the attraction of
tourism, as in case of Rajasthan.
 Knowledge of the full symbolic spectrum of a city allows manipulation, which may be in demand
for various reasons.

Hawa Mahal, Chittorgarh Fort,

Jaipur Chittorgarh
Symbolism|Introduction 31
 Through the knowledge of urban symbolic ecology and city branding, the possibility to create a
positive image towards the public is, to a certain extent, achievable.
 Urban symbolism consummates urban identity; it bestows the urban manager, the city planner, the
architect and the common man the tools to mold the city into a vivacious piece of art.

Jaipur City Map Udaipur City Map

Symbolism|Introduction 32
Examples of symbolism

Great Wall of China The Roman Colosseum

(China) (Rome)

Symbolism|Examples 33
Examples of symbolism

Taj Mahal Christ the Redeemer Statue

(Agra, India) (Rio de Janeiro)

Symbolism|Examples 34
Examples of symbolism

Northern Lights, Venice, Italy

Iceland

Symbolism|Examples 35
Examples of symbolism

Temples of Bagan, Varanasi

Burma (Myanmar)

Symbolism|Examples 36
 Activity Pattern
 The Activity Pattern of any space comprises of the following
areas :
• Private (Residences)
• Semi-public (Institutional )
• Public(commercial, Green Spaces)

Movement from Origin

• According to the above determinants namely landform, climate,
symbolism etc. the activity pattern of a space is decided.
• All the areas (private, semi-public, public) are segregated
accordingly so as to provide better efficiency as well as comfort
of movement around the space.
• The basic governing factor in an activity pattern of a place is
the movement between the areas, better the area segregation
better the movement. Movement from Single Point

Inroduction|Activity Pattern 37
• Based on the landform and symbolism an
activity pattern of the place can be given a
definite pattern.
• For example, if the landform of a place is of
a mountain terrain and the symbols are
around it the activity pattern should be of a
radial type so as to increase the movement
and efficiency of the space.

Radial Activity Pattern

Inroduction|Activity Pattern 38
GANDHINAGAR ACTIVITY PATTERN

SEMI-PUBLIC
(SCHOOLS)

PRIVATE
(RESIDENCES)

GREEN
SPACES(PUBLIC)

SHOPPING
CENTRES(PUBLIC)

Activity Pattern of Gandhinagar

Activity Pattern|Gandhinagar Activity Pattern

39
CHANDIGARH ACTIVITY PATTERN

Activity Pattern of Chandigarh

Activity Pattern|Chandigarh Activity Pattern 40