Department design 3. Small Complex Design - BMEEPUIT711
SPECIALIZATION DESIGN COURSE /// DEPARTMENTAL DESIGN
Department of Urban Planning and Design
ABOVE: CARE FOR THE EXISTING – rethinking the legacy of car dominated urban areas
teachers: BENKŐ Melinda habil PhD, HORY Gergely PhD
person in charge: BENKŐ Melinda habil PhD
8 credits
grading: semester markThe term above refers to the design principles practiced in this studio: during the course, we develop design proposals that prioritize reuse of, and building “upon” or “on the top of” the existing instead of demolition. We believe that such an approach can be only successful if it is grounded on thorough research of the physical, social, economic and political layers of the actual location. Understanding the relations among these various issues leads us towards a more sensitive understanding of our built environment and its problems. Through the design process, students are to acquire consciousness that their proposed interventions are to be embedded into this complex system affecting all of its various layers.
This course aims to find ways to improve the quality of human life in densely populated residential areas by activating untapped opportunities in the existing physical infrastructure.
During this semester we focus on the urban and architectural aspects of car traffic and parking in densely populated urban areas in Budapest and beyond. We will learn about the main questions, development directions of how to face the legacy of motorisation of our cities in the XXIst century. During the XXth century cars significantly changed the way of how we think about and use our cities. The car used to symbolize freedom, since the individual was reach much farther areas than before. This optimism about cars was gradually challenged by the last third of the XXth century as people experienced energy crises and the negative environmental and helath effects of motorisation. Nowadays European cities implement significant measures to reduce car traffic from central areas: there are several car-free zones, high parking costs, developing public transport alternatives and many more. As cars are gradually displaced from the city, the question emerges: what to do with the existing infrastructure built originally to host car traffic? How should we reuse that enourmous area tha are not occupied by cars anymore? And where should we place the diplaced cars and what will be done with the fact that the number of cars are still increasing?
Both the design and the research course will deal with the above mentioned issue: we will analyse casees around the world trying to understand their context. Then we make efforts in understanding the specialities of Budapest as well. The aim of the course is to develop a critical understanding of a key contemporary issue that influence the daily life of everyone, and raise students’ sensitivity towards versatile vantage points. it is intended to make students understand that it is not correct to deal with a problem in isolation, rather it is needed to search for its interconnectedness in a complex system.
In the first weeks of the semester, we are going to learn about the spatial, social, and political issues of relevant sites of investigation. Then we focus specifically on a chosen case study area. After localizing most relevant issues to address, students develop design concepts for a wider neighbourhood. Afterwards they choose a part of their proposal that is to be further developed in detail (1:200 scale).