Theoretical Background ยท Updated 20December 2005, by Jason
This section describes the theoretical basis of this research. (To be updated by Ed.) Briefly, this work draws from the writings of Jane Jacobs (The Death and Life of Great American Cities, 1961), Fred Koetter, and Colin Rowe (Collage City, 1984).
The work, like the studio it sprang from, focuses on the planning and architecture of cities. It is concerned with two distinct scales of operation: that of neighborhood and that of the dwellings and the institutional and commercial building types that typically contribute to neighborhood. Issues of community, group form, and the public realm, as well as the formation of public space, blocks, streets, and squares are emphasized. The work is organized to follow a distinct design methodology, which began with the study of context and precedents. It postulates that new architecture can be made as a continuation and extension of normative urban structure and building typologies.