Urban Morphology versus Urban Redevelopment and Revitalisation.

Proceedings 24th ISUF 2017 - City and Territory in the Globalization Age, 2017

The "Network city" and its crisis Over the last decade we have been witnessing the effect over the territory of the worldwide propellant of the globalization processes. As an immediate consequence, one can remind the progressive weakening of the "Network city" (Marzot, 2006 i). This urban model was intended, since its inception, development and forerunning application, to take over the role of Planning in the management of the territorial transformation and to supersede it with urban and territorial marketing multimodal infrastructure to group existing cities into clusters, considered coherent to down strategy. This overarching process was developed at the expenses of national and local interests, almost completely disregarding the effects produced onto the already established communities. Therefore, if the "Network City" was apparently unfolding an unlimited capacity to multiply opportunities, by increasing movements of people, goods, information and resources, it was pursuing its goals by being very selective and exclusive with respect to the existing framework. As a side effect of this overarching strategy, the dominant urban model Abstract. Over the last decade, we have been witnessing the progressive weakening of the so-called "Network City", indented as the sheer embodiment of the globalization driving forces. This phenomenon mostly occurred because urban model. It progressively delivered an increasing amount of waiting lands and building vacancies over the territory. Emptiness suddenly appeared as the "culture of congestion". Recycling seems to be the immediate reaction to the building standstill and it is nowadays widely accepted as the most promising strategy to face the crisis of the city, especially within Europe. This statement respect it becomes fundamental to reconsider the forerunning contribution of Urban Morphology and Building Typology. In fact this discipline, since the second half of the '50 of the XX century, because of the necessity to reconstruct Europe after the Second World War, was pioneering the necessity to read the Form of the city beyond any ideological prejudice, superseding the Modern approach. As a consequence of this attitude, the city was even more intended as a "manufact" constantly transformed through the different historical promising future for our cities.

Enhancing, within the educational teaching of architectural design, the strong continuity between the typological evolution of the built organism and the building to be designed (Petruccioli, 1998) can greatly improve the architectural design process. From the territorial scale, to the scale of the urban tissues, the understanding of the coherence of paths and settlement patterns within a given site morphology, is the prerequisite for the proper design of the built organism. The paper will illustrate some case studies, in Latium, Rome and Cyprus, focused on the knotting process (Strappa, 2013) and the Muratorian design method (Maretto, 2013), underlining the strong continuity (Whitehand, 2012) between the Conzenian approach and the Italian School of Urban Morphology (Marzot, 2002). From the form of the site and the diachronic evolution of settlement patterns, it is possible to infer the transformation to propose with the contemporary design. The territorial scale is therefore the speci c methodological base for the full understanding of the scalar properties, veri able within other scales, such as the urban organism scale, the urban tissue scale, and the built organism scale. (Cataldi, Maffei, Vaccaro, 2002).

Urban morphology, 1997

The forces and events leading to the formation of the International Seminar on Urban Form (ISUF) are identified. ISUF is expanding the field of urban morphology beyond its original confines in geography, particularly into the domains of architecture and planning. Three schools of urban morphology, in England, Italy and France, are coming together, following seminal work by two morphologists, M.R.G.

ISUF23 Proceedings, 2023

The small towns of North-Eastern Germany suffered great losses in historic buildings and economic dynamics during WWII and the following decades of communist rule. Since 1990, these communities have suffered a major decrease in the number of inhabitants, resulting in a large number of buildings being empty. To adjust the urban structure to 21st century standards and regain economic dynamic the local government is supporting urban renewal projects. Sites inside medieval town centers are under pressure to amalgamate and be recreated as large-scale developer architecture or to fall into ultimate decay. As part of the RUHMM-study on the urban morphology of medieval urban structures, a study of theHoly Spirit Hospice (Heiligengeist-Quarter) of Woldegk is conducted. The research showed, how contextualisation and a re-definition of the site based on historic narratives inspired authorities and stakeholders to initiate a narrative-based development of the site.Urban renewal based on historic narratives creates wider public support for contemporary redevelopment in small urban communities. Concepts based on small-scale architecture and functional continuity have shown good results in the chosen case.

2013

Muratori 's series of urban projects demonstrate both his growing appreciation of the city and his developing perception of its formative logico Growth and maturation are evident in his work, arguably culminating in his Venetian projects for the Barene di San Giuliano in 1959. A kind of cultural progression is evident in which an awareness ofthe significance of crises in the way in which ideas and phenomena develop leads to his 'discovery ' of morphology. There is also a development from the bringing together of theory and architecture (in which architecture is seen as the science of design) to the conception of morphology as a planning discipline. This paper considers the development of this key aspect of Muratori 's thinking between the late 1940s and the beginning of the 1960s a development in which the basis for a morphological school of urban design can be clearly recognized.

Iconarp International J. of Architecture and Planning

This paper provides a comprehensive review of the research field of urban morphology: the study of urban form. Urban morphology is a growing field of cross-disciplinary research, attracting worldwide interest among scholars in architecture, geography and planning. It aims to decipher the physical form, the urban landscape or townscape of complex contemporary cities. This paper discusses the evolution of urban morphology, from its conceptual foundations in research on the physical form of urban areas. Interestingly, the roots of urban morphology can be traced back to different disciplines in different countries. This discussion will cast light on various research perspectives of urban morphology, as well as discussing similarities and differences between the geographical and the architectural approaches to urban form studies. This is followed by a closer look at the theories developed by Gianfranco Caniggia and MRG Conzen. Their work has been an inspiration for many practitioners and researchers, including Whitehand, Maffei, and Moudon to name a few. Finally, a schematic diagram is presented, which reflects the heightened activity of research on physical form that is currently occurring in several disciplines simultaneously, and showing the relationships between research traditions and authors. As the formation and development of the urban landscape becomes ever more diverse, it is necessary to revisit and use

First of all let me say how happy and glad I am to host an Isuf Conference in Rome, in our Faculty of Architecture of "Sapienza" University. Since our early Isuf meetings in the Nineties, I always thought that, sooner or later, we had to organize a conference in Rome on Urban Morphology. We were a few people at that time but since then many years have passed and the number of Isuf members is much increased. Even the fields of interest and scientific methods have proliferated and the meaning of the term "urban morphology" now applies to many schools of thought, sometimes quite dissimilar from those of the founders, but certainly useful to the progress of "discipline." To our field of interest it was actually recognized the status of discipline, whose roots do not belong only to the schools of cultural geography and building typology, but also acknowledged the different influences of scholars of the city form such as Christofer Alexander, Colin Rowe, Kevin Lynch. For our conference we had about 700 submissions by Urban Morphology scholars belonging to different schools from all over the world. It is noteworthy that most of submissions came from countries rapidly changing, a sign that Isuf has become an association of actual reference in studies on urban transformation. Each Isuf Conference had its peculiar character linked to the specificities of the place that hosts it. I think that an Isuf Conference in Rome has two special reasons. The first is that Rome is a true text of Urban Morphology, not only for its monumental and archaeological part, but mainly for its urban fabric that have been transformed over centuries. This also explains the presence here of numerous colleagues interested to heritage and interventions inside the historical fabrics. Not by chance, is involved in this conference Daniela Esposito, the Director of the School of Restoration in Rome, one of the most prestigious institutions in the field in Europe. Moreover, as Jeremy Whithand has written in the last edition of our Journal, the matter merit high priority on the Isuf agenda, as the contribution of UM studies in the various Heritage Organizations has been meager in recent years. The second reason is that this school of Valle Giulia hosted the birth of one of the schools of thought on which (along with the conzenian one) was founded Isuf. A school with a long tradition, born in the '30s with scholars such as Giovannoni and Milani, and continued by Calandra, Muratori, Caniggia and many others. A tradition which we try to continue with an open mind and by experimenting in new ways. A last point. In organizing the structure of this conference we faced the problem of collecting many different contributions within, as far as possible, homogeneous sessions. As for any conference proposing an "oriented" theme, we had to deal with the answers of ap-plicants and often with some very specific papers that it was not always possible to place in entirely consistent sessions. We preferred to anyway accept these contributions, giving up, in some cases, an ideal coherence of the sessions and preferring, instead, to include the most valuable materials proposed for the Urban Morphology disciplinary debate. In opening this Conference I feel obliged to thank the Vicar Rector of Sapienza, Renato Masiani, The Dean of the Faculty Annamaria Giovenale, the Director of the Department of Architectural Design Piero Ostilio Rossi. All of them have strongly encouraged this project. A special thanks is due to professors and students of our Draco PhD School. They have actually coordinated, helped, and concretely supported the initiative. city as organism|new visions for urban life City as a process. Rome urban form in transformation

2015

Rapid urban population is widely known as the main inducement of growing cities in terms of quantity and variety in form. However, the city expansion entails physical challenges and it has profound impacts on the issue of urban morphology. It raises global awareness beyond the urbanism and includes sociology, psychology, economics as well as environmental studies due to the implications of broadness. The accentuation on morphological studies is on the grounds of fabric segregation in cities of developing countries where the patterns of modern developments are usually not in good agreement with traditional part. Causing several concerns, it urges morphological studies to attain urban fabric integrity. Therefore, this research aims to study morphology in respect to the form and subsequently proposes a framework of to-be-investigated indices. This study looks for identifying modules and excerpts of traditional core of cities in order to be fostered in future development and to make ach...

Recomposition of public spaces in the medieval city compromised by war damage and speculative development. The working method is based on the belief that analysing the history of the city is fundamental to the study of urban morphology, clarifying the relationship between permanent structures on the one hand and temporary ones on the other. History becomes an indispensable tool with which to discover the underlying reasons for the development of the urban structure, which is an indelible reminder made in the image of the community. The methodology looks at the city as a product of functional systems (political, social, economic), but contemplates the overall urban form as a result of its spatial structure. The urban form is investigated in its physical specificity, which is the only method capable of finding the reasons for the special nature of the urban form in contrast to the social, economic, and political aspect that while certainly important, are insufficient. In fact, restoring not only a material but also a spiritual value to the city today is as indispensable as it ever has been. Consequently, a discussion can be held on the destiny of the city. The Architectural and Urban Composition 2 course at the Department of Civil, Environmental, and Architectural Engineering of the University of Padua is based on fundamental 1960s studies about typological analysis (especially Aldo Rossi, L’architettura della città, 1966) specifically oriented towards the theme of public spaces and establishing relationships between these and private spaces. The spatial aspects and formal image of the transformations in the city are studied as a premise on which to base the design of the new architecture. One of the areas in Padua studied by the students is Piazza Duomo (Cathedral Square), used as an opportunity to reconfigure the lost unity of a very symbolic and representative place, which acts as a custodian of the history and identity of this city. Piazza Duomo has been affected by rapid post Second World War reconstruction that has resulted in the loss of the organic unity with surrounding parts of the city. The hierarchy and order of the elements that characterize the form of this old place has been compromised by speculation in the second half of the twentieth century. Piazza Duomo is now a squalid parking space but in previous centuries it was a reference point for religious life in the city. It is used as a case study with analysis and proposals for a new urban design.

FORMA CIVITATIS: International journal of urban and territorial morphological studies (IJUTMS), Vol. 2, N. 1, 2022, 2022

2016

This research aims to investigate morphological changes in urban patterns in urban renewal areas by using geographic information systems and to reveal pattern differences that occur before and after urban renewal processes by applying a morphological analysis. The concept of urban morphology is not involved in urban renewal and urban planning practices in Turkey. This situation destroys the structural characteristic of urban space which appears as a consequence of changes at city, street or plot level. Different approaches and renewal interventions to urban settlements, which are formed as a reflection of cultural issues, may have positive and negative results. A morphological analysis has been applied to an urban renewal area that covers 325 ha. in Konya, in which city urban renewal projects have gained speed with the increasing of economic investments in this study. The study mentions urban renewal and urban morphology relationship, varied academic approach on the urban morphology...

U+D urbanform and design, 2018

G. Strappa editoriale, Durata del temporaneo G. Strappa, Substrata. Morfologia dell' Antico oltre le rovine C. D. Coelho, Sedimentaçao e Metamorfose. Projecto de recuperaçao e reintegraçao de traçados e estruturas construfdas romanas em Bobadela, Portugal C. Sammarco, Processualità del tessuto derivato dall' edilizia speciale antica. Dal consumo del sostrato alla sintesi della forma P. Carlotti, On continuity and discontinuity. Interview with Alexander Schwarz N. Scardigno, Il paesaggio come paradigma cognitivo trans-storico. La Mongolia come caso studio G. F. Rociola, Villaggi oasiani dell' Erg. Thala Timimoun e l' organismo acqueo-insediativo S. Clemente, Lo spazio moderno per lo spettacolo come processo di formazione dal tessuto urbano N. Panzini, Theodor Fischer e Monaco Fritz Schumacher e Amburgo. Il "blocco edilizio" e la corte, corpi murari e spazi collettivi C. A. Manzo, Il progetto di architettura come prodotto scientifico -lo Samuels, Reflections of an Italophile urban morphologist Year: 2019 Publisher: L'ERMA di BRETSCHNEIDER Journal: U+D urbanform and design, 9-10 ISBN: 978-88-913-1828-2 Binding: Paperback Pages: 112, 132 ill. B/W, 32 ill. Col. Size: 21 x 28 cm

XXVIII International Seminar on Urban Form (ISUF 2021): Urban Form and the Sustainable and Prosperous Cities, 2021

The rapid growth of urban populations is a big issue in the past decades. With the growing concern on “sustainability”, how to obtain a good balance between heritage conservation and new constructions in the city became a crucial challenge nowadays. This paper chooses Rome and Leuven as case studies and discusses the difference between their street pattern, plot pattern and building pattern. The paper declares that in the case of Rome, the “genius loci” is rooted in the continuously transformation of substrata. While in Leuven, the diversity of the landscape is its genetic codes. Both architectural artefacts and landscape forms are important components of urban morphology. Furthermore, the two different urban forms are deeply related with how citizens live in the city. The row houses in Leuven always keep the pertinent area at the back while in Rome the pertinent area behind the row houses is not obvious after the transformation. The paper highlights the socio-economy aspect and reveals the relationship between horticultural tradition and physical forms like domestic garden, “verlinting”, and perimeter block in Leuven. Urban morphology works as a tool to understand the city’s “genius loci” and help to keep the continuity when transformation happens in the city.

U+D urbanform and design, 2021

U+D urbanform and design, 16 2021, 202 pp., 15 ill. col. Brossura, 21 x 28 cm ISBN: 9788891325129 ISSN: 2612-3754 Date of Publication: 31 Dec 2021