The three key topics covered were:
- Perception of the environment
- Techniques to read the city
- Design and perception
The two key points in the perception of the environment was described as thick and thin spaces. A person observing a thick space would see it as a place which supports a broad and deep lived experience of place whilst a thin place was a space seen to been erased of any local specificity. However, the interpretation of these places depend on the user and the experiences of that user which all influence their view on the place.
The two theories discussed was by Gordon Cullen, the "Concise Townscape 1961," and "Image of the City 1960," by Kevin Lynch. Gordon Cullen looks at a city or settlement in three ways:
- Serial vision, (individual images)
- Place, (here and there)
- Content, (this and that)
Kevin Lynch describes the city in greater depth, the four main points he see's the city as are:
- Mental image of city
- Visual quality: legibility of the cityscape
- Identity: structure and meaning
- Imageability: the quality in an object which gives it a high chance of evoking a strong image an an observer
Lynch's five elements used to further analyse the city was then discussed these elements helped to interpret a place in terms of:
- Paths
- Edges
- Districts
- Nodes
- Landmarks
These five elements helps me to further anaylise the spaces in the city and made me think about the way design and architecture can influence the surroundings and the people using the spaces. A building has a direct impact on the surrounding spaces and can embrace them or ignore them.
