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It's Not About the Skyline, It's About the Base Condition

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It's Not About the Skyline, It's About the Base Condition ctbuh.org/papers Title: It’s Not About the Skyline, It’s About the Base Condition Author: Terri Meyer Boake, Professor, University of Waterloo Subjects: History, Theory & Criticism Landscape Architecture Social Issues Urban Design Keywords: Context Social Interaction Urban Habitat Publication Date: 2015 Original Publication: Global Interchanges: Resurgence of the Skyscraper City Paper Type: 1. Book chapter/Part chapter 2. Journal paper 3. Conference proceeding 4. Unpublished conference paper 5. Magazine article 6. Unpublished © Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat / Terri Meyer Boake It’s Not About the Skyline, It’s About the Base Condition Abstract Prof. Terri Boake Professor The rapid densification of cities is a fairly recent phenomenon and seems in many cases to be University of Waterloo, progressing without regard to important already established urban theory regarding the design Cambridge, Canada of successful cities. More effort needs to be placed into the design of the base condition of the skyscraper to ensure that it plays a role in the activation of the pedestrian precinct. Porosity and a fine grained commercial fabric is key. It will be shown that a better success rate seems to ensue Terri Meyer Boake is a Professor of Architecture at the University of Waterloo. She has published Diagrid Structures: from urban situations where land costs are high and footprints are tightly related to the street. Systems, Connections, Details through Birkhäuser in 2014. She Tabula rasa sites that are not fitted into a pre-existing vital urban fabric tend towards insular is an active member of the Skyscraper Center Board of the CTBUH making significant contributions to the database. She is or self-contained destination type developments. These are succeeding in dampening urban a team leader for CTBUH researching the nature of Composite activity. Sensory connections must be maintained for multi-level pedestrian walkway systems to Structural Systems in tall buildings. Her research expertise is in the area of Architecturally Exposed Structural Steel. She succeed as vital connections between tall buildings. is presently writing a book on Complex Steel Structures, examining the impact of non-orthogonal systems on design and construction detailing. Keywords: Activity; Base Condition; Site Planning; Streetscape; Tabula Rasa; Urban Life The increase in the density of our urban environments as we create “skyscraper cities” is inevitable and is desired as a means to limit urban sprawl and preserve valuable agricultural land. However, not all manifestations of density are naturally supportive of a rich urban life. How do we measure the quality, life, and success of a city? Particularly a “Skyscraper City”? The rapid densification of cities is a fairly recent phenomenon and seems in many cases to be progressing without regard to important already established urban theories regarding the design of successful cities. The work of Jane Jacobs as characterized in The Death and Life of Great American Cities (1963) addressed the design of the pedestrian precinct in the city. The urban theorist Jan Gehl in Life Between Buildings (1971) also wrote extensively on the design of interstitial urban spaces towards a high quality of life. In Christopher Alexander’s seminal work A Pattern Language (1977) the value of scale and human interactions to create quality urban environments were established. Hans Blumenfeld also wrote extensively on the need for the modern city to connect to the historic fabric in his influential work The Modern Metropolis (1971). It is of course significant that these urban theories were emerging during the post World War II period as cities were rapidly expanding and densifying through the construction of towers. Although the emphasis of all authors suggested design guidelines for less dense city zones than we are now facing, these important ideas are still valid and are easily extended to dense skyscraper cities. All authors clearly established the importance of the design of city streets in this role and the role of architecture in facilitating a highly energized and active street life. All recognized that the most important zone of interaction with buildings in the city lay in the 6m/18ft high base immediately adjacent to the sidewalk. It is the immediate base condition of the building and its relationship to the street that ultimately determines the character of the urban environment. Yet, cities are routinely now judged by their skylines. There is a misconception that an exciting skyline equates to a vibrant city. Interesting skylines are populated by skyscrapers where increasing attention has been placed on the design of the top of the tower, to the point of creating superfluous structure and architecture for the purpose of enhancing height and aesthetic appeal. While skylines might be important indicators of the character and identity of a city, they do take the focus away from the more important detailing of the engagement of dense buildings with the streetscape - the design of the base condition. It is here where the design of the skyscraper as an urban participant can enhance or diminish the vitality of life in the city. Further, the overall planning and the nature of the interstitial urban spaces formed between tall buildings is additionally critical to urban vibrancy. When examining contemporary urban issues arising from the increased construction of skyscrapers, there is nothing inherently wrong or right about “iconic looking towers”. However in dense urban situations the pedestrian precinct is mostly influenced by the 494 | CTBUH 2015 New York Conference bottom levels, so if the cladding or form of the overall tower is innovative or banal it does not necessarily influence the vitality of the urban spaces or directly impact the success of the grade related condition in support of urban activity. As extrapolated from the work of the urban theorists, it is not the tower itself but rather its position and condition at grade that either activates or dampens urban life. What is different in 2015 from the 1970s when the first real surge of skyscraper construction began, is the shift from single function towers to mixed function neighborhoods to multi-function towers. The central business district has shifted from one dominated by office towers, to one with a mix of office and residential towers, to the current trend for mixed use towers. Where mixed use neighborhoods were soon realized to improve upon the quality and safety of urban neighborhoods by ensuring The high level of urban activity in the Ginza area of Tokyo can be attributed to the high quality of the pedestrian a pedestrian population that was present precinct. This would include the provision of amenities such as street furniture, but also the fine grain of the scale of during “non-office hours” in the evenings and the retail establishments that line the streets. Active façades also activate the street. (Source: Terri Meyer Boake) through the weekends, economic drivers serves as an attractor and the multi- of building footprints, whose tightness have extended this to combined uses within functions of the building draw pedestrian seems to feed directly into the activity level towers. This begins to positively influence the traffic to the neighborhood. of the city. It is additionally critical whether potential liveliness of the base condition by the functions incorporated into the grade injecting variety in the programmatic urban level floors are inward or outward looking. requirements throughout tower districts Porosity is critical. It is problematic that The Base Condition as all neighborhoods will tend to have a not all jurisdictions will have firm planning residential component. The base condition of tower typologies is guidelines in place that impose demands on the nature of the relationship of the building Where new mixed used tower projects are a function of the relationship between the to its urban site. inserted into the existing city fabric they tower typology, its footprint, the dimensions of the site, sidewalk widths, road widths, can serve to enhance the vitality of the The achievement of vibrancy in city life and the planning requirements of the city. This would be the case of The Shard over the last 100+ years has been highly municipality. This tends to result in a range in London, where this destination project dependent on the earlier 20th century nature of a very finely grained urban fabric that is comprised of relatively small retail establishments that rigorously line the streets. From Europe to North America to Asia, this is consistent. The average width of shops ranges from as little as 3 meters to as many as 8 meters. This dimensional rhythm creates a porosity in the street edge. Street life arises from the function of shoppers, tourists, and hungry lunch and dinner goers who populate the streets of cities and feed the economy. Active streets tend also to be safe streets. Sidewalk and street widths are important to accommodate activity. Where the intensity of activity exceeds the carrying capacity of the sidewalk (Oxford The dynamic skyline of the Pudong area of Shanghai suggests urban vibrancy. However the region is relatively devoid Street, London for example) a negative of street related activity as a result of divisive wide vehicle corridors, an extensive elevated walkway system and inward looking retail functions. (Source: Terri Meyer Boake) environment can result. Proportions need to CTBUH 2015 New York Conference | 495 The setback of the raised plaza at the Seagram Building in New York City, combined Even iconic artwork is incapable of activating urban spaces if the grade related levels with its expansive glazed lobby, fails to activate the life of the adjacent city street. of the buildings are not themselves active with public program and providing a porous (Source: Terri Meyer Boake) edge to the space. (Source: Terri Meyer Boake) demolition of a number of smaller shops to create an aggregated site of a much larger size, the fine grain of the shops and urban fabric continued between these tall buildings and succeeded in maintaining a level of vibrancy in the city.
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