TOWARDS A SPONTANEOUS URBAN ORDER
by
Lance Burguière
Chair: Frank M. Bosworth, Ph.D, AIA
Co-chair: Prof. Peter E. Prugh, Emeritus Professor of Architecture
Abstract
In an attempt to produce new architecture within the old city centers, a new generation of buildings has arisen which are markedly different from those within their surroundings. Often, these new buildings, singularly and in chorus, result in homogeneous and monocultural surroundings. Why is there a disparity in the perceived quality of these places, new and old? If there is a disparity, if the built environment is not wholly uniform, then there may be characteristics that can be used to evaluate these differences. If previous methods of building produced desirable places and if current methods do so to a lesser degree, then there might be reasons why the change occurred. There appears to be a great desire for places produced in the spirit of older city building methodology, but if contemporary practices largely prohibit this, then a new method needs to be sought.