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This website is created for the course ARU2070 - Territory for MSC 1.

In order to calculate designs made by architects, urban planners and landscape designers we need to take in consideration to effects of the natural sources and elements we have around us. In this course we take different natural elements into consideration in order to calculate and design projects that are completely fitted in to its context. The elements we take in consideration are divided in the subs next to home Sun, Plantation, Wind, Water are some of these elements that need to take into consideration when designing. 

In this course I will look back at previous design I made during my bachelor, Pre-Master and Master degree. With excel sheets we can easy determine the right calculation for each design. The intention is to conclude how I would do a previous design better in the future by calculating these elements.

NEW LEGENDS

Earlier design

Legends are very important for anyone who is doing in a way an abstract job. We designers cannot do our job if we do not have legend. Legends give us the opportunity to understand a drawing without we need to ask any one. I have notice that I in my previous design I am always try to find a new way to shows my legends. One style i am doing lately on my projects is the way I take an element or form from the drawing and I scaled that to the normal legend scale. For example if I want to show park in my drawing in a legend I simply take the park and scale it and call it Park in my legends. For me that is a kind of new style to shows my legends. I use to just make square and colored it in and tell what the colors correspond to. But now if I take the form with the color I believe that the legends will be much clearer to someone else.

fig.1 normal type of legend I sometimes use



fig.2 and 3 Structure map with legend in the form of the element



fig.3 New type of Legends use by myself



Future design

Of course in the future I will still use legends to explain my plans. Legends will help to make your idea that you are showing on the map clearer without being too detailed. The book SWWELL from Prof. de Jong and the excel program has some interesting legends methods that I can always consider to use in the future.

fig.4 fragment about legends in the SWWELL book by de Jong

ENVIRONMENT

keywords: Green connection, contamination, Nature, River, Environmental Friendly

Earliers design

For the city of Haarlem I propose to make a green connection true out the city. This to not only connect the forest and the parks with other green elements in the city but also to connect to use the environment to clean up areas that once were use for industry and might been contiminated. In my critical datail I datailed a former industry terrain among the River. In the past the river quay was the location were all the industry will be for the tranportation by water. This was for the environment very bad because the rivers got contaminated. Also the Spaarne River was contaminated a few years ago. But the nature is strong and if we stop interfere with it in the bad way the nature and environment will recover again. We as urban planners can help the environment to intergrate environmantal friendly sollutions.

fig.1 the green conection in Haarlem wil help the intergration of the total environment in the city.

Future design

In my future design I will always keep looking for new ways to bring the environment in connection with my projects. I think that we are now starting to learn about respecting the environment and built and plan along it and not to built against it. In the future I will use the excel program of de Jong to check the norms that the environment is requiring.

fig.2 exel sheet from de Jong about the Recommended distance of industy from living areas

LIVING DENSITY

keywords: Transformation, Regeneration, Public spaces, Streets, built Environment

Earlier design

Density is really important for us Urban planners. To be honest I am not that good in this part of planning. I notice that I can make a design base one location, sun, wind, traffic, nature, the users but I never know exactly how dense this will be. In a case like Almere it is obvious that if I design a new part of the city like Almere-Hout many people will find their home there. In the case of Haarlem where I design an regenerate an old industry location as living, working and shopping are I don't really know how many people are really going to be living there. I notice that I am trying to get to know this better in my current project on the Island of Curacao. On this location the design is aiming to transform an old oil refinery into a new city center with living and working function. Because the terrain is huge I notice that I do not know how to dense it. From my teacher I got to study how many people I would like to have on that location. Also the space between the building are crucial to create a pleasant place to live or be. I notice that I have not many problem with the distance between the building in the street but more with the public spaces. I notices that sometimes I can design enormous public spaces that would not work in that setting. Instead of that I could have better pay attention to a better densification of  the area.

fig.1 Sketch plan of the Isla Refinery Terrain in Curacao, some of the blocks on this sketch can be more dense than now some of the open spaces could be to big for the pleasant and safe feeling in a city.

Future design

In my future designs I will take the density issue more into consideration. We need to relize that it is an import part of urban desing. With the help of the excell program provide by Prof. de Jong we can easely measure and calculate density on the location we are plannen. Pictures below show two excell sheets by de Jong that can be use to measure density of buidling in a built environment.

fig.2 and 3 Two excell sheets from de Jong to measure the density in a built area 

LIFE

keywords: Species, Landscape, Perspective, Landpoort, Eco Ducks, Biodiversity

Eerlier design

Life is something that we always should think about while designing. We as urban planner more than architects has to be able to look much more further in the future. Especially when we are planning neighbourhoods or towns. Planning is not something that you do for a short term it a process that need to go century and century. We are even able to change the landscape and the living environment of people or species like animal or plants. Life within a urban context is really important and we need to make a good balance in what is important for now and what will still be important in about twenty to fifty years without effecting any life. In my previous work I work with a group on a project where calculation of life for the short term and the long term was important. This project was master 1 urbanism project called Landpoort. The part we call Perspective where we look at the whole area of Landpoort and make some strategic decisions at last, has everything to do with the development of life and the environment and how we can use the quality of it, we made some green passages and Eco ducks to maintain the living of species in this area or to integrate them. Also we look at the development of life as in people lives. Below some pictures of the group proces in Master 1.



fig.1 Perspective for the Landpoort Area



 

fig.2 the cores that were choose as stratigic projects with the perspective was about were people and other life come together

 Future Design

 I think that for the future or for my current project where I want to use nature to heal the location I think I will try to look at the element of life more in the way of Biodiversity in an area. Nature and Environment will develop as the most important actors in an urban design project. The excel program of Prof. de Jong give us the possibilities to do some measurement and calculations about different type of species. Of course as urban designer I will always keep I mind the life development of the people that will use the spaces. Below some fragment from the excel program from Prof. de Jong and the book SWWELL.



fig.3 Excel sheet from de Jong about Population growth.







fig.4 Excel sheet from de Jong about Urban dynamics



fig. 5 fragment out of the book SWWELL by de Jong about landscape changes since the ice age

EARTH and SOIL

keywords: Lava soil, contamination, Oil, Chemicals, Soil Formation

Eerlier desing

fig.1 Lava soil of Curacao

To be honest in my earlier design I never pays many attention to the earth and soil issues. Nevertheless it is a extremely important part of urban planning and architecture. Especially in the Netherlands where we deal with different types of soil. The first time I really take soil and earth in to consideration is on my current project. As mentioned in the wind part of this website my current project is located on the Caribbean Island of Curacao on an Oil Refinery terrain. To be able to propose any development on that location we need to know what type of soil we are dealing with and in how far the soil is contaminated by chemicals and oil. For my Current project I do not have detailed maps but I do have some sketch proposal in order to heal the soil. For that I propose to use plants to heal the soil. Of course the development will take please on a long term because the nature needs some time to do the job.



fig.2, 3 the geology of the Island of Curacao and below the proposal to heal the soil of the refinery by using plants.



Future Design

In order to understand a location it is important to understand the soil your design is going to be planned. For in the future I would like to know and learn more about the geology from the locations I will plan for. I do need to be an geological but I would like to understand what is happening and what type of design are better for which location. Because the Netherlands is flat we often do not have to deal with steep hills and deep valleys. In order to understand the theory of earth and soil Prof. de Jong made excel sheets where we can calculate different aspect on a location concerning the soil. For the future I will use these excel sheets to measure and calculate my location. On the pictures below some fragment of the excel sheets and the book of Earth and Soil from Prof. de Jong.

fig.4 fragment of the book SWELL by Prof. de Jong



fig.5

Calculation of heights in the excel program of Prof. de Jong



TRAFFIC

keywords; Public Transportation, Tunnel, Esplanade, Infrastructure, Congestion

Eerlier design

Since I have the urbanism background from my bachelor at the Hogeschool van Amsterdam (Amsterdam University) I notice that I always take traffic into consideration in my projects. For us urban planners and designers the connection is very important. This is one of the most vital part in the design process before you can even start to design. Questions such as "How can I get the people into the are how can I get them out?" or "How are we going to deal with the amount of cars that will come into area when people are living, visiting and working there?". All these questions you first answer before you start the design process. I my case I notice that I take the traffic flow very seriously and I always try to solve the problems of traffic jams and public transportation. Although I can show many examples of my previous work how try to do all of this but I think the project of Haarlem I did something more drastic. In order to connect the city with the water again I needed to made the River Spaarne accessible for the people. On the western river quay of the Spaarne I created an Esplanade that is pedestrian friendly so the people can have a river walk in their city. Because the traffic flow in that part is one of the most important connection for the city of Haarlem and it is a node where traffic congestion form almost every day I needed to keep this part accessible for the car traffic. To solve this problem I propose a tunnel underneath the Esplanade and I made the lanes twice wider to the traffic flow can go faster. 


fig.1 Infrastructure in Haarlem current situation



fig.2 and fig.3 perspective show the Esplanade on the west side with a track for tram and the tunnel that runs underneath the Esplanade and comes out to the end of the Esplanade. Section shows the tunnel and the River Spaarne

  Future Design

The traffic will stay a very important actor in the pattern we call urban. For the future design I would like to learn more about the theory of traffic structure and parking. Also the importance of public transportation is becoming a bigger issue. The population is expanding and people that commute are becoming every year more. We as urban planners can have some influence in how we can carry on with these problems. Together with new technologies like electric trams or trams on solar energy we can introduce a whole new way of moving and commuting.
Of course as designer we hope that proposals like this will help to solve some traffic problems but of course we never know how it really going to end up. To have an idea how it is going to we can use the excel program made by Prof. de Jong where we can make some calculations. The excel program Prof. de Jong develop for us future designer we can calculate different type of traffic use. One of the sheets I think that I am going to use often is the part of Public Transportation where we can calculate how many stop is needed in a certain distance. Also the sheets about the lanes I think I will use in the future to calculate and design roads. I believe that infrastructure is one with a design I every urban designer or planner should calculate this very good in order to get a better design. Below you can find the some fragment of the excel sheets from Prof. de Jong.

fig.4 excel sheet about Public Tranportation by Prof. de Jong

fig.5 excel sheet about lanes by Prof. de Jong