Urban Design Problems, Architects Should Address while Designing

The Urban Commandments for your next Architecture Venture

Architecture is not just about building. It means to improve people’s quality of life. The urban contextual envelope is considered an effective factor in the formation of architectural and urban planning products, consequently raised to be an important approach in the architecture process. Not all architects are urban planners. However, every architectural product kind of contribute to an urban setting. Therefore, the proper pre-consideration of problems to be addressed is necessary while designing. Following are the urban trends architects should consider in their design approach –

Managing Urban Population Growth: Strategies for Sustainable Urban Design

It is considered one of the most effective and prime concerns that need to be addressed in every nation around the globe. To combat that, architects and engineers are developing new technologies and innovative measures. For instance, vertical living is considered to be the best way to let people provide accommodation in areas where there is a lack of space and also enable ways to utilize the space effectively. It also helps one to build in areas where the density is high therefore, the vertical living methods will allow people to have much of a recreation space along with adequate living facilities. Furthermore, population growth might compel people to live on the outskirts for which the basic amenities become the prime concern for an architect to address as well. The land is a limited resource, unless and until we humans find full-fledged ways to harness extraterrestrial living. This is somehow making architects focus more on the usability factor in the architectural pieces, they are creating. It is the functionality of a building that helps it to reach its maximum potential value to carry out the tasks envisaged for it. The upcoming time will see a population boom of 10 billion people living on the same planet. Therefore, allocating every unit of space for a useful purpose is the way to go ahead. Some stricter questions need to be asked as: “how much actual space does a person needs to carry out a certain task” or “Is the structure that I am creating have the utility to fulfill the accommodation of such a big population”

Population drives the factor of construction growth in the urbanscape. Read Urban Sprawl and Architecture

Designing for Climate Resilience: Strategies for Sustainable Urban Development

The data behind the architecture and construction being the cause of 40% of carbon emissions is a burden in this new-age eco-conscious society. An architect might not be able to design anything without considering environmental factors for the same. The design must be adaptive as well as sustaining to the weather. The materials should be viciously selected to allow more of the passive strategies working upon a structure to minimize the carbon footprints and therefore, lower the effect of climate change. The age of the house is also one of the major factors because the older it gets, the more maintenance and unsafe it becomes to let the population sustain. The vernacular method of life cycle assessment and then selecting building materials is the key here. A building material with greater accessibility resulting in lesser embodied energy should be considered. Another aspect of a building that contributes to carbon emissions is the energy it consumes i.e., mostly for heating, cooling, and the purpose for which it is designed. Although, compensating for these factors through passive design strategies is always a common objective for architects. In the future, there can be a government ruling to set the seal on these very same passive design strategies and on-site energy generation through renewable resources. Furthermore, one should also consider the disaster context to forbid the population rise in areas where the rate of disaster is critical. To address this, one can use mitigation techniques and/or make the structure disaster-resistant up to a certain level. The effect of climate and its impact on the structure shall also be considered.

To capitalize on this trend 8 Eco-Friendly Ways to Make your Home More Sustainable

Cultural Identity and Urban Design: Preserving Heritage and Fostering Community

The culture and tradition of any place hold a special place in the people and thus, becomes the identity of that place. Being an architect, one should always consider the effects and the impact one’s build form can put through the inspiration as well as the inclusion of such elements in his/her design. The prime aspect of the designer should be to promote these cultural aspects whether tangible or intangible as per the need in such a way that they influence others to know more about the people. Not only this, they must find a way and create such spaces which create a sense of belongingness. The cultural relevance of any structure shall be restored amidst incorporating innovation and technology into any space. Furthermore, the architect should also find ways of revivalism either through materials or techniques used in construction. Though preserving the heritage and cultural identity is considered to be a good method however there might be instances where we have to sublime or ignore some of the cultural trends for the inclusiveness and benefit of the people this has to be considered properly as to at what cost are we ignoring these trends and will they negatively impact the people?

In pursuit of solving complex issues, we are losing a cultural touch in our architectural pieces. To know more in context to that read How different is Ancient and Modern Architecture

New Age Resources and Urban Design: Strategies for Sustainable Resource Management

Since the advent of human civilization, the innovation and development of newer resources had always been in the context. The hit-and-trial methods to learn about the effectiveness of new things is a key aspect in exploring the newer resources but with the overuse of such resources, depletion started to occur. With the depletion of resources, there evolved strategies to conserve them and use such methods which will eventually provoke sustainable techniques and make people understand the importance to reuse, recycle and reduce. Not only this, these new age resources are quite effective in developing sustainable practices and encourage modularity empowering the industries to come up with a solution that will reduce the wastage of material and make it easy to procure as well. That is why the buzz around discovering new materials and energy production techniques with perennial life-years in combination with deploying on-site 3R practices (Reduce, Reuse, and Recycle) in construction is quite high. 

For detailed examples of materials of the future, please go through this blog 10 Unique Building Materials That are Perfect for Modern Homes

Designing for Community: Strategies to Foster Social Connectedness in Urban Spaces

Nowadays, people prefer to be more secluded to keep their things private. As more and more have asked for many private spaces, it has now become a luxury in the urban jungle. Such practices are a threat to society as we can see how beneficial engaging places are. The best examples can be seen at the Jaisalmer Fort as well as the pols of Ahmedabad. These were the areas where people were indulging with one another and therefore, promoted the feeling of communal harmony. Such a feeling of communal harmony is quite essential when we think of expanding as well as keeping the tradition alive in society. An architect must take care of such aspects and encourage spaces that will promote community gatherings and involve engagement with the person.

Revitalizing Urban Spaces: Strategies for Sustainable and Inclusive Urban Design

While developing projects at an urban level, architects should always prioritize interaction. The interaction of people with others in a public space is really important in today’s world. This will not only keep the culture and tradition alive but also will help in awakening the public and promoting the growth of the human race. There should always be a sense of belongingness as well as avoiding spaces being chaotic but engaging. One can avoid making the space chaotic by creating pause points at areas where there is a space that can accommodate more than excepted crowd. This can be achieved by creating the space by enabling the footfall of only a particular lifestyle of people, a way that will filter the crowd without letting some external factors drive them away. Besides, there has to be segregation and not separation among the people. The relatable spaces and their impression allow and provoke people to mark their presence but are limited to certain criteria.

Also, take a read to Top 10 Natural Building Materials For Sustainable Architecture

Designing for Pandemic Resilience: Strategies for Safe and Healthy Urban Spaces

The Covid-19 pandemic left an everlasting impact on the human race. It made them live in a more closeted space and create their area of comfort. Despite this, architects need to take care of the needs and well-being of humans by designing such spaces which not only allow them to be in touch with one another but also deliver areas that might seclude a certain group from the others. One example to achieve this in urbanscape is through the creation of gazebos in the landscape you indulge in, enabling fewer people to accommodate in one place and also allowing them to connect with others. Bill gates one of the most famous voices in the tech world has already suggested that the human race is still not ready for the next pandemic which can be very soon after this covid-19 pandemic. It is just not Bill gates but data also clearly depicts that we are swiftly inching toward another pandemic. Climate change, deterioration of ecological barriers, and ill-governed public amenities are the root causes behind this. Architects must realize this and should start including adaptability and modularity factors in their design templates - 

• Incorporating health tech elements in the spaces you live in. 
• Designing a space that is detachable yet so engaging. 
• Transparentize the public spaces.

Universal Design: Strategies for Universal Accessibility and User-Friendly Spaces

The universal design is considered one of the most effective methods of conjugating and modulating the ergonomic as well as an economical mode of construction. As an architect, one should take care of such methods and aspects which lead to the formation of a universal design. This also includes the provisions and designing of spaces in such a way that they are specially-abled friendly, allowing the design to eliminate the use of change in volumes at areas where the provision of specially-abled persons is provided. They will also encourage the footfall and easy locomotion of the one who might be accompanying him. The articulation or volume differentiation can be provided at areas where the user group won’t suffer any problems when using that space. The way to achieve design for all is very simple: an architect just has to be inclusive of all the demographics in design and exclusive of the problems they face. 

Preventing Crime Through Design: Strategies for Safe and Secure Urban Spaces

As the population rises, the rate of crime is also increasing. Therefore, an urge to come up with such places which make the user feel safe and secure developed. The inclusion of defensive planning even with the help of AI and modern technology is considered to be a good approach to allow more footfall over a certain area. It is always appreciated to minimize the use of blind spots or shadow areas which will eventually promote crime or any absurd activities. This can also happen by using proper signage which will make the people easily distinguish the certain structure and discourage the inadequate circulation of the public. 

Apart from all these aspects and areas, one should always consider ‘The Death and Life of Great American Cities, a book by Jane Jacobs while addressing urban trends. She is an American-Canadian journalist, who published a non-fiction book in 1961. The author talks about ways to make cities more habitable by improving the city planning process. She starts her book by critiquing American city planning practices. She criticizes The Garden City, The Radiant City, and The City Beautiful, three influential urban movements. Getting through the book and learning about the ways to understand the cities and their pros and cons is a great method to visualize and address the trends that had already existed in the market so far.

In conclusion, demonstrating such spaces which are effective to the new generation as well as are easily recognized by the older ones is the major trend that makes one’s design to be adored by many.  Coming up with such spaces, which forbid and tackle the issues of security along with deriving the solutions to encourage a sense of togetherness and belongingness is a great design-driven factor for any urban space.

It is commonly said an architect is the only one who intellectualizes the building construction process i.e., past considerations, present needs, and future aspirations. For the rest, it is just some economical exercise of combining bricks and mortar but for an architect, it is the greater impact he intends to create through his/her design, for that he/she tries to be inclusive of the “maximum number of problems solved approach” through their design. This problem-solving approach requires an architect to be up-to-date with all the trends that somehow can be driving forces in the development of their urbanscape. At Planndesign we educate architects about the same to better assess the market needs.

Lastly, take a read to the 10 Best Well-Planned Cities in the World

and 10 Clever Tips to Design a Sustainable and Affordable Home