as the role of Space Syntax in terms of analysing these patterns, a group of 40 people were attending to our site visit in the City.
The aim of the tour was to discuss and illustrate the fundamental links between the layout of the City – its “movement network” – and the way people navigate and experience its spaces.
When people a few years ago become interested in the structure of cities a lot of attention was paid to urban blocks as the fundamental organiser of the city. Space Syntax, however, emphasise the network of lines between buildings as being more important in the make up of the city. For instance, as we move along one block, patterns of use can be fairly homogenous, but when we turn a corner, uses change and there can be an incredible change in the atmosphere of the space, the level of activity and the sense of intimacy of the space.
The site visit aimed to illustrate this point by taking us to major landmark buildings, smaller roads, lanes and alleways so see the change of quality and feel of space and encouraged us to think about questions like ‘Why is it like that?’ and ‘What are the social processes that have given rise to it?’ and finally, ‘What are its effect on the life and dynamics of the City?’
Following a relaxing lunch outside Tate Modern, we took a stroll through Millennium Bridge to St. Paul’s Cathedral to see a really good example of modernist planning by opening up views between the two landmark buildings. As Mia explained, before the Millennium Bridge was commissioned, Space Syntax carried out a study which showed that the bridge would be well used and would provide a vital physical and visual connection between the two bank sides. They helped persuade the City of London to grant its planning permission. From here, we explored the quiet backstreets and lanes around St Paul’s such as Bow Lane, one of the nicest shopping streets of London to see the correlation between scale, character and function and how places on a local scale are connected to a very small grid that feeds pedestrians into the area.
The site visit ended with a visit to the Barbican, a contrasting example where unlike in the City, the natural intelligibility created through the urban grid does not exist. In fact, the consistencies in spatial culture created by the City’s grid are reversed here, resulting in a series of experiences of space separated for movement, sitting and seeing of inhabitants. Nevertheless, the Barbican is proved to be a very successful and comforting place to live.
Visit to the Royal Festival Hall, the Underbelly, Waterloo Square and more. 1 July 2009
