Module 3: Influential Urban Design Thinkers: Kevin Lynch
Module 3: Influential Urban Design Thinkers-Kevin Lynch
Kevin Lynch is a name
that every urban designer has heard at least once in their lifetime. For
landscape architects, he is seen as one of the most influential urban planner
that we have the privilege to following in his footsteps. With
his ideologies and understanding of historic design, he was one of
the best in the business. Luckily for us, he decided to write down his thoughts
and his design processes in multiple books so that we could learn from him and
be successful urban planners and designers.
He was born in
Chicago, IL in 1918. He started his design career studying at Yale University
under the famous architect Frank Lloyd Wright, who designed many famous
residential structures such as Falling Water, and finished his schooling in
City Planning at MIT. After graduating from MIT, He was soon brought on as
staff and began teaching, and next got his tenure. Kevin Lynch wrote a
published many books while working professionally in site planning and urban
design with Carr/Lynch Associates, his most famous work being, "The Image
of City". After retiring from teaching and working, he moved to
Martha's Vineyard where he lived out the rest of his life.
Every designer has
their own set of underlying values. Kevin Lynch focused on how humans mentally
move through a city. When you ask a resident to draw a map of their city, there
is usually a lot of elements that are considered design elements. For instance,
in Seattle, WA someone would draw the Space Needle or Pike Place Market and how
the place you are looking for is located in relevance to these famous
places.
Kevin Lynch had many
design elements that he perceived as the most important, these elements
are Paths, Edges, Districts, Nodes, and Landmarks.
A Path is defined as
the channel of the observer, what they see, how they interact and move through
a site.
Top
Image: Paths drawn by Kevin Lynch.
Bottom
Image: Art installation of a grass path winding through the city of Jaujac, France.
Edges
are defined as breaking in continuity with the surrounding areas, the border of
the city, a separation of a city and wilderness for example.
Top
Image: Drawing of Edges by Kevin Lynch.
Middle
Image: Central Park in New York City showing the edge of development and the
area set aside and preserved.
Bottom
Image: The City of Lucca in Tuscany, Italy. A walled city which has a definite
edge around the entire city.
Districts
are two dimensional elements within which we spot a common character, different
types of neighborhoods with common design elements, different building shapes
with similar planting designs, etc.
Top
Image: Districts drawn by Kevin Lynch.
Middle
Image: Housing district located in Ocean City Maryland.
Bottom
Image: The Industrial district of West Seattle.
A
Node is described as a strategic point in a city, a Plaza space or public area
where people can interact, open spaces in a city.
Top
Image: Nodes drawn by Kevin Lynch.
Middle
Image: Central Square of Padua, Italy.
Bottom
Image:The Finsbury Circus Offices in London England.
Lastly,
there are Landmarks which are external references,for example, statues and
sculptures, interesting natural forms, buildings, etc.
Top
Image: Landmarks drawn by Kevin Lynch.
Middle
Image: Valley of the Fallen, Madrid, Spain.
Bottom
Image: The Eiffel Tower, Paris, France.
Images:
Image 1: http://krypton.mnsu.edu/~jp5985fj/courses/431/Drawing.html
Image 2: http://weburbanist.com/2012/03/13/green-carpet-grass-trail-winds-through-city-streets/
Image 3: https://ahbelab.com/tag/kevin-lynch/
Image 4: http://www.istockphoto.com/photos/central-park?excludenudity=true&sort=mostpopular&mediatype=photography&phrase=central%20park
Image 5: http://www.italymagazine.com/featured-story/day-tripper-lucca
Image 6: http://aytch.mnsu.edu/Drawings/?C=S;O=A
Image 7: https://mdcoastdispatch.com/2015/05/07/oc-weighing-new-housing-district-that-would-prohibit-short-term-rentals-in-certain-areas/
Image8: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Aerial_view_of_Industrial_District_West_in_Seattle.jpg
Image 9: http://aytch.mnsu.edu/Drawings/
Image 10: https://www.viator.com/tours/Venice/Padova-Asolo-and-the-Venetian-Villas-Day-Trip-from-Venice/d522-18696P21
Image 11: https://www.e-architect.co.uk/london/finsbury-circus-office-building
Image 12: https://ahbelab.com/tag/kevin-lynch/
Image 13: http://thechive.com/2017/05/21/landmarks-that-tourists-love-and-locals-hate-18-photos/
Image 14: https://aehistory.wordpress.com/1887/10/05/1887-the-eiffel-tower-paris-france/eiffel-tower-1-3/
Citations:
Zamburlini, G. (2010, September 6). Kevin Lynch: The Image of the City (1960). Retrieved October 4, 2017, from http://architectureandurbanism.blogspot.com/2010/09/kevin-lynch-image-of-city-1960.html
Lynch, K. (1995). Kevin Lynch: His Life and Work. In City of Sense and City Design: Writings and Projects of Kevin Lynch (pp. 1-29). Cambridge, MA: M.I.T. Press. doi:https://books.google.com/books?id=6LUhsu6Ap1EC&pg=PA1#v=onepage&q&f=false
You mention urban icons being the first entity we employ in orienting and navigating ourselves within an environment. This concept of physically defining urban space is successful in facilitating one’s navigation, but limits exploration. Navigation is desirable and needed on some level, but after researching Edward Relph’s philosophies, I place more importance on exploration and its association with free-will. The ability to navigate freely to one’s discretion, strengthens the perceived identity respectively because it allows for the most subconscious thought and personal growth. I believe this sandbox-like concept successfully evolves the city through leaving out urban entities that aren’t critically relevant; and allows for a more dynamic evolution of the human mind. With all this is mind, maybe designers should just provide city navigational elements to satisfy the bare requirements; and place priority on facilitating the ability to freely perceive and explore.
ReplyDeleteLynch was the first urban thinker that I read about when going into Landscape architecture and it made me realize these many different things about a city that I wasn't noticing before. When going to any new place now I tend to spot things such as landmarks, nodes, and districts. They truly are what makes a city. I don't think there are any cities in the world that don't have all these characteristics. Which is interesting because a lot of older cities were already designed before any of these things were brought into paper, yet you can find them dating back to the first cities.
ReplyDeleteI really enjoyed this blog post and I am definitely interested in reading more on Kevin Lynch. the use of urban icons, paths and other features within the built environment and the natural environment has been a form a wayfinding used by humans throughout history. The use of features is often more of an effective wayfinding method than signs, especially in an era of automotive dependency due to high traffic speeds and low visibility of most signs. In many places when asking for directions, people often do not refer to signs to send you on your way, they refer to certain buildings, monuments, landmarks and my favorite, “if you hit the railroad tracts you have gone to far”. In fact when I first moved to Boise a little over a year ago, I found myself taking note of certain built and natural features to find my way instead of paying attention to signage posted throughout the city.
ReplyDeleteYou did a great job. These pictures really express you and Kevin Lynch's concept. I've seen the introduction of his book "Good City Form". Kevin Lynch, in his book Good City Form, focuses on the connection between human values and urban material forms, sets the requirements for urban morphological norms, and reviews the physical image of early utopian societies. His Paths, Edges, Districts, Nodes, and Landmarks design elements are modern urban design guidelines.
ReplyDeletei enjoyed this blog post especially because it made me think about how i map cities that i know well in my mind. How do i see any of his 5 design elements in my everyday life. I also think his ideas interestingly connect to a psychological idea called mind mapping. Which is basically taking those 5 design elements he talks about and creating a map in your mind in order to remember items or events, this is often a city or place known well in the persons mind.
ReplyDelete