URBAN PLANNING AND ARCHITECTURAL DESIGN

URBAN PLANNING AND ARCHITECTURAL DESIGN 1 Themes of the new study programme at GUtech

2 ConTact Coordinator of Study Programme Head of Department Prof. Dipl.-Ing. Bauass. Rolf Westerheide AOR Lehrstuhl und Institut für Städtebau und Landesplanung Tel: +49 (0)241 80 95036 westerheide@isl.rwth-aachen.de Assistant Coordinator Dipl.-Ing. Claudia Kruschwitz kruschwitz@isl.rwth-aachen.de Dipl.-Ing. Anne Eaton eaton@isl.rwth-aachen.de Lehrstuhl und Institut für Städtebau und Landesplanung Tel: +49 (0)241 80 95033 Imprint Chair and Institute of Urban Design and Regional Planning photo credits Archive Chair and Institute of Urban Design and Regional Planning except for p. 5 middle- Gehl, Gemzoe: New City Spaces 2000; p. 6 bottom- Salma Samar Damluji: The Architecture of Oman 1998; p. 7 middle- Cities. Architecture and Society 2006; p.11 left- Salma Samar Damluji: The Architecture of Oman 1998; p. 12 left- Archive Chair of History of Urban Planning; p. 13 left, middle- Archive Chair of Media Design; p. 14 right- Archive Chair of Constructive Design; p. 18 left- Archive Chair of Media Design; p. 19 left- Archive Geometry; p. 20 right - Delfante, Charles: Architekturgeschichte der Stadt 1999

3 Content The phenomenon city Urban planning and architectural design Current challenges in urban design Professional network and major products of planning Fields of activity and career opportunities Bachelor of Science in Urban Planning and Architectural Design at GUTecH COURSE STRUCTURE OF THE BACHELOR STUDY PROGRAMME AT GUTECH INTEGRATED PROJECTS AND LAYERS OF URBAN DESIGN Study programme at the Faculty of Architecture at RWTH Aachen

4 THE PHENOMENON CITY The term city encompasses a complex network of functions, spaces, processes, correlations, values and significances. The urban planner s will to design the living space city poses constant challenges. A city is a dense habitat and activity space for its citizens. In its appearance it mirrors the building history s diversity and singularity, growth and delapidation become visible. The special quality of the urban society appears in the contrasts and simultaneousness of apparent irreconcilable elements: openness and density, publicity and privacy which also allow anonymity rootedness and mobility; insistence, continuity and change from the dynamic surrounding of cultural richness. At the same time, development processes are decisively influenced by economical potentials.

5 URBAN PLANNING AND ARCHITECTURAL DESIGN Urban planning is an integral societal assignment. It is an undisclaimable instrument regarding the change of structures, living conditions and spheres of activity. The future of the entirety city depends to some extent on the visionary force and the professional competence of urban planners. Therefore, the education of responsible persons who will be distinguished by the internationally protected and approved professional title urban planner will be of fundamental importance. The comprehensive assignment city demands the recognition of contexts. Urban planning is, in the root of the matter, a public task which provides structural parameters for the subsequent investments and building projects: for private constructors, investors and for public authorities and institutions. It deals with the interplay between local needs and higher requirements, with a balance between individual and collective interests. The spatial-architectural design tasks furthermore ask for a consideration of ecological, technical-economical, social and aesthetic circumstances just as for the specific conditions of working and living, culture and leisure. Urban planning also orientates itself on the economical profit, creates economical values, supports societally and individually useful investments. Urban planning plays a major role in shaping the natural surroundings of our lives and the interplay of these surroundings with the social and built environment as well as the identification with it by its inhabitants. It is therefore both a creative-artistic and social job.

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CURRENT CHALLENGES IN URBAN PLANNING Among the major challenges are: - population development - processes of urbanisation throughout the globe - development of planning instruments to regulate chaotic unplanned urban growth (esp. regarding infrastructural deficiencies) Yet, urban designers and planners are currently experiencing dramatic transformations in their profession as their role in shaping and designing the built environment increasingly involves interdisciplinary issues concerning the preservation of resources. They are increasingly obliged to think globally in terms of urban and landscape planning as well as in an economical, political and cultural sense. 7 A city is a dense habitat and activity space for its citizens. It is the most successful innovation of mankind this already since 5000 years.

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9 PROFESSIONAL NETWORK AND MAJOR PRODUCTS OF PLANNING Urban planners work in many different fields, and have a diverse range of assignments. Their main fields of activity are: - design and composition - creation of urban plans - moderation and configuration of processes - project control and project development framework planning in urban design urban project design urban development plan master plan The products of urban planning consist of two groups: - framework planning in urban design - community development planning The illustration on the left shows the different external professions closely connected to urban planning as well as the major products of the urban planner s work. community development planning management plan structure plan legally binding land-use plan

10 Planning in Accordance with Legal Regulations ( Official Planning) Development planning, federal state planning, regional planning, development planning procedures, impact assessments General development planning, land use planning, local development planning, project and site development planning Urban development contracts Preparation and implementation of procedural steps (public participation) Investigations and planning for general and specific urban planning law measures Informal (Communal) Planning Urban development planning, village develop- ment planning, project-related development planning, structural planning City district planning, urban master planning Sustainability studies, feasibility studies Specialist studies, concepts and planning for individual urban planning issues Location and urban economic investigations Design of public areas (e.g. streets and squares) and residential environments Further Activities (management, consulting, research and teaching) Planning management, interdisciplinary coordination Project management, project controlling Moderation and mediation, informal participation procedures Urban development consulting and support services for municipal authorities City marketing Research on urban and regional planning and urban design

FIELDS OF ACTIVITY AND CAREER OPPORTUNITIES The Urban Planning and Architectural Design degree course at GUtech is designed to prepare graduates to work in major international fields and in particular in Arabic-speaking regions to permit a progressive and sustainable urban and regional development. 11 The focus of graduates later professional work is in administrative and institutional sections of municipal, administrative and governmental organisations and, increasingly, in larger private project development companies, housing construction companies, construction companies and as freelancers in teams of architects, engineers, traffic planners, geographers and economists being engaged in one of the illustrated diverse fields of activity.

1. Jahr Foundation Year ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Bachelor Study Programme 1 st year Basic Studies ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- examinations examinations 2 nd year 3 rd year Bachelor Study Programme Advanced Studies 12 4 th year Bachelor s Thesis ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- internationally approved education profile in urban planning (throughout the EU) jobs as employee jobs in higher positions PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE URBAN PLANNING > registration at the Chamber of Architects after 2-3 years of professional experience (approved professional title urban planner ) examinations 5 th year Master Study Master Study Programme Programme in Urban Design* in Architecture * 6 th year Master s Thesis Master s Thesis ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- examinations internationally approved education PROFESSIONAL PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE EXPERIENCE ARCHITECTURE ARCHITECTURE profile in urban planning + architecture > registration > registration the Chamber at the of Chamber Architects of Architects (throughout the EU) after 2-3 years after of 2-3 professional years professional experience experience jobs as a freelancer (approved professional (approved professional title architect ) title architect ) jobs in leading positions PhD * admission to the Master Study Programmes due to a qualitative evaluation of the Bachelor degree and necessary professional experience (the exact formalities currently being defined) A qualification allows an admission to Master Study Programmes at GUtech, RWTH Aachen University, throughout the EU or USA in architecture or urban planning (at GUtech an in-service training is being considered)

BACHELOR OF SCIENCE IN URBAN PLANNING AND ARCHITECTURAL DESIGN AT GUtech Study Programme The Bachelor of Science in Urban Planning and Architectural Design is a competitive programme with an international orientation. It is conducted exclusively in English. It is divided into two sections: a phase of basic studies in the first year of the course (Level 1), and a second advanced phase in the three following years, (Levels 2, 3 and 4). The last year of the programme concludes with the completion of a Bachelor s thesis. General Skills Urban planners must be able to present urban goals along with their effects explicitly in form and content and coherently for expert groups and the public. People becoming urban planners should have manifold interests, creativity, high social competences and the ability to think conceptionally. Learning Outcome and Qualification Graduates of the study programme will have acquired: a qualification as all-rounders for the analysis and creative solution of complex problems from the wide range of urban planning and architectural design with the technical and social skills to collaborate knowledge and skills in urban planning, architecture and landscape design as well as historical, methodological, socio-economical and ecological foundations an awareness of societal responsibility as designers of our natural surroundings the preparation for lifelong learning and ability to act in various application domains the preparation to work in major international fields and in particular in Arabic-speaking regions 13

14 court house typology master plan

conceptual layer of open spaces conceptual layer of public access atmospheric impression COURSE STRUCTURE OF THE BACHELOR STUDY PROGRAMME AT GUtech Each of the four academic years consists of different courses and modules, with an increasing complexity of knowledge from year to year. On the left, the main subject groups are shown, with the core courses of the education, the so called INTEGRATED PROJECTS, in the centre. In the eight integrated projects, the know-how of the various courses of the semester will be applied, connecting real-life assignments from Oman and the Arabian Peninsula with theoretical knowledge, urban planning instruments and architectural solution strategies. The broad variety of professional inputs consist of - lectures - seminars - tutorials - workshops - laboratories - excursions 15

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INTEGRATED PROJECTS AND LAYERS OF URBAN DESIGN During the design of a master plan in the context of an integrated project, a student has to deal with the various layers of an urban design; among them: - the master plan itself, which illustrates the site of the project in an aerial view: open spaces, traffic networks and building structures - details of the master plan regarding the shape of spaces and building typologies - the layer of the natural parameters (such as topography, erosion, irrigation systems, streams, natural cover) - the layer of history (such as monuments, traditional settlement structures, traditional building typologies) - the conceptual layer of public access (the system and typology of the roads) - the conceptual layer of utilisations (the distribution of utilisations) - the conceptual layer of the typology of buildings (such as blocks, rows, soltaires) - the layer of plots and buildings (such as plot sizes, typologies of different building forms, types of access) - the conceptual layer of the typology of open spaces and the hierarchy of public spaces (the distribution throughout the settlement pattern, appearances, hierarchy) - the layer of ecology and environment (such as closed circuits, emission and immission, sealing, regeneration) - the layer of the invisble city (such as the social structure, urban politics, perception) 17

LECTURERS OF THE FIRST SEMESTER Prof. Dipl.-Ing. Bauass. Rolf Westerheide Head of Department of Urban Planning and Architectural Design Univ.-Pof. Dipl.-Ing. Christiane Wunderlich Basics of Building Design and Architectural Elements, Research Methods Dr.-Ing. Sonja Nebel Perception of Space and Shapes, Planning Cartography, Workshop Part II 22 Univ.-Prof. Dr. Michael Jansen History of Urban Development I Univ.-Prof. em. Heiner Hoffmann Workshop Part I, Sketching Miriam Hoffmann Workshop Part I Dipl.-Ing. Claudia Kruschwitz Planning Cartography, Workshop Part II Dipl.-Ing. Anne Eaton M. Re. Research Methods, Workshop Part II Dipl.-Ing. Joaquin Ramirez CAAD.Start integrated in Research Methods Univ.-Prof. Peter Russell, Dean of Faculty of architecure RWTH Aachen University CAAD (2. Semester Bachlor)

PHILOSOPHY OF THE FIRST SEMESTER FIRST SEMESTER OF THE STUDYPROGRAMME "URBAN PLANNING AND ARCHITECTURAL DESIGN" Modules Forms of Learning "Philosophy" M 01 History of Urban Development I Lectures + Seminars (teams of 2 students) more theoretical, writing, research in literature M 02 + M 06 Research Methods + Planning Cartography Lectures + Tutorials (teams of 2 students) methodological backgrounds in urban planning and architectural design, basic computer skills, small exercises, field survey M 03 Sketching Tutorials practical and creative abilities of the different drawing techniques M 05 Perception of Space and Shapes M 06 Basics of Building Design and Architectural Elements M 07 Workshop Language and Cultural Skills Lectures + Tutorials (teams of 2 students) Lectures + Tutorials (teams of 2 students) Tutorials fundamentals in urban design, typologies and components of urban design fundamentals in architecture and construction, building typologies first experiences in designing and modelling general course for all students of GUtech 23

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