Week 2
Todays lecture was entitled 'The Perception of the City' and covered aspects on perceptions of the environment, techniques to read and understand a city and information regarding our major assignment and walk shop taking place after the lecture.
One of the main points covered in the lecture that i took most note of was the points taken from Kevin Lynch's, The Image of the City (1960) where he talks about the design of perception of the city through various key 'aspects and examples of them within Brisbane.
They were:
Paths - The channels along which the observer customarily, occasionally, or potentially moves.
Example: The Southbank Parklands pathways.
Edges - Interfaces between two phases, linear breaks in continuity: shores, railroads cuts, edges of development, walls.
Example: The Brisbane River
Districts - The medium‐to‐large sections of the city, which are recognisable as having some common, identifying character
Example: Chinatown in Fortitude Valley
Nodes - The strategic spots in a city which are the intensive foci to and from which the observer is travelling.
Example: Queen and Albert St intersection within the mall. Regarded as the 'centre' of Brisbanes CBD, the mall is the main point within Brisbane in which you are heading towards or are leaving from.
Landmarks - A rather simply defined physical object. Their use involves the singling out of one element from a host of possibilities.
Example: Southbank Ferris Wheel. A large structure which can be seen from far distances and provides aa major focal point in Southbank and Brisbane.
Another set of points covered which I think will greatly influence our upcoming assignment were:
Todays lecture was entitled 'The Perception of the City' and covered aspects on perceptions of the environment, techniques to read and understand a city and information regarding our major assignment and walk shop taking place after the lecture.
One of the main points covered in the lecture that i took most note of was the points taken from Kevin Lynch's, The Image of the City (1960) where he talks about the design of perception of the city through various key 'aspects and examples of them within Brisbane.
They were:
Paths - The channels along which the observer customarily, occasionally, or potentially moves.
Example: The Southbank Parklands pathways.
Edges - Interfaces between two phases, linear breaks in continuity: shores, railroads cuts, edges of development, walls.
Example: The Brisbane River
Districts - The medium‐to‐large sections of the city, which are recognisable as having some common, identifying character
Example: Chinatown in Fortitude Valley
Nodes - The strategic spots in a city which are the intensive foci to and from which the observer is travelling.
Example: Queen and Albert St intersection within the mall. Regarded as the 'centre' of Brisbanes CBD, the mall is the main point within Brisbane in which you are heading towards or are leaving from.
Landmarks - A rather simply defined physical object. Their use involves the singling out of one element from a host of possibilities.
Example: Southbank Ferris Wheel. A large structure which can be seen from far distances and provides aa major focal point in Southbank and Brisbane.
Another set of points covered which I think will greatly influence our upcoming assignment were:
Boundaries - Conventional subdivision - Boundaries within Brisbane can be seen as the imaginary 'lines' that define different suburbs or districts. These have no real physical element.
Limits - Physical element - clearly defined elements that separate areas, such as Southbanks parklands or the Riverside Expressway.
Edges - Interface between two conditions - Similar as stated above, the Brisbane River can be seen as an edge, with the high density CBD on one side and the low density residential Kangaroo Point suburb on the other.
Limits - Physical element - clearly defined elements that separate areas, such as Southbanks parklands or the Riverside Expressway.
Edges - Interface between two conditions - Similar as stated above, the Brisbane River can be seen as an edge, with the high density CBD on one side and the low density residential Kangaroo Point suburb on the other.
Memorial - Tells Who I Am - Within Brisbane certain memorials like Anzac Square serve as a point with a more emotional or spiritual meaning than as a specific location.
Landmark - Tells Where I Am - usually a large physical structure that serves to identify or recognise a specific location within a city.
Monument - Tells Why the city has its layout - Somewhere that has great meaning to the history or physical identity of a city. This is a major contributor as to why the city has its structure or layout. The city basis' itself around axis' created by the monument. Such as the Anzac Square/Central Station clock tower.
Landmark - Tells Where I Am - usually a large physical structure that serves to identify or recognise a specific location within a city.
Monument - Tells Why the city has its layout - Somewhere that has great meaning to the history or physical identity of a city. This is a major contributor as to why the city has its structure or layout. The city basis' itself around axis' created by the monument. Such as the Anzac Square/Central Station clock tower.
These key points will be essential in analysing the city we choose to do the assignment on. By researching and applying these points to our city, we stand to learn a lot more about the city's history, design/layout, culture, future developments and more.
City Walkshop
Brisbane City Hall. Stop number 2 on walking route
The purpose of the city walkshop was to explore Brisbane by taking different routes to the Howard Smith Wharves from QUT. Our group, led my Mirko, was giving the route shown below, starting at QUT, through the Botanical Gardens, up Albert Street to King George Square, along Ann St to Cathedral Square, then cutting through to the riverside walk and finishing up at the Wharves. During the walk we were asked to stop at certain points and record through photos and quick sketches the area around us and try to make connections with the topic covered in the lecture.
Route Taken during the walkshop. Stopping in Botanical Gardens (1), King George Square (2), Anzac Square (3) and Cathedral Square (4).
Stop 1, Botanical Gardens.
This is a quick on the spot sketch done from the Rotunda in the Botanical Gardens looking up Albert St. This viewpoint offers examples of some aspects covered in the lecture. The Rotunda acts as a landmark within the gardens, with multiple pathways stemming from it, also it can be seen that along this main axis, there are edges, boundary's and limits evident. The boundary can be seen as the main gate, separating the gardens from the street, the main edges are along the main pathway, and the limit as the pond and larger trees.
Stop 3. Anzac Memorial.
Anzac square has a rich history and deep meaning with, not only the residents of Brisbane, but for all Australians as it marks as a tribute to all fallen ANZAC soldiers. The square itself can be classified as being a monument, in that the square influences the surrounding city's structure and layout. The square acts as the main axis in which it can be followed through the Post Office square, through the Old Post Office building towards St. Stephens Cathedral. The Anzac square and the memorial are one of the most iconic pieces of Brisbane's identity.
Stop 4. Cathedral Square.
I found that Cathedral Place to be a strange location within Brisbane, because when we arrived there in the middle of a working day, there wasn't a single person around, even though it was lunch time and there are plenty of surrounding office buildings. The square doesn't seem to be used like it is meant to. Mirko pointed out that the only time the square properly used is as a congregation point on Sunday for the adjacent St Johns Cathedral.
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