Gateway College of Architecture and Design, Sonipat Haryana

Lecture -03
Urban design vocabulary Morphology and Five elements of kelvin lynch

Lecture -03 Urban Design B.Arch.

Ar. Lenin

Gateway College of Architecture And Design

Urban design vocabulary and Five elements of kelvin lynch

PLAZA, SQUARE, STREET,MORPHOLOGY,FIGUREGROUND

Plaza is an open, public place near a bustling city or town. The term plaza is derived from
Spanish word, referring to an open field. Plazas are open places or city squares that are
surrounded by buildings, stores, shops and offices.
The plazas provide the people with an open area to sit, rest and can also include a scenic view
of a fountain, statue, etc. Plazas are often large areas.
A town square is an open area commonly found in the heart of a traditional town used for
community gatherings. http://www.differencebetween.info/difference-between-plaza-and-square
Most town squares are hardscapes suitable for open markets, music concerts, political rallies,
and other events that require firm ground. Being centrally located, town squares are usually
surrounded by small shops such as bakeries, meat markets, cheese stores, and clothing stores.
At their centre is often a fountain, well, monument, or statue. Many of those with fountains are
actually named Fountain Square.
https://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20060626032844AAGVXrP

Lecture -03 Urban Design B.Arch.

Ar. Lenin

Gateway College of Architecture And Design

Urban design vocabulary and Five elements of kelvin lynch

PLAZA, SQUARE, STREET,MORPHOLOGY,FIGUREGROUND

http://www.pps.org/great_public_spaces/one?public_place_id=912

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Krak%C3%B3w,_Widok_z_wie%C5%BCy_Ko%C5%9Bcio%
C5%82a_Mariackiego_-_fotopolska.eu_(220013).jpg

Lecture -03 Urban Design B.Arch.

Ar. Lenin

Gateway College of Architecture And Design

Urban design vocabulary and Five elements of kelvin lynch

PLAZA, SQUARE, STREET,MORPHOLOGY,FIGUREGROUND

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plaza_Mayor,_Madrid

http://www.perutouristguide.com/english/23tu/english_23tu_pp_plaza.html

Lecture -03 Urban Design B.Arch.

Ar. Lenin

Properties of Plaza
Length finely proportional to its width.
Statues as silhouettes against the sky above cornice
line.
Fountain signifying fine vintage point
Series of different shapes connected by traditional
narrow street, column screens or arches.
Gateway College of Architecture And Design

Urban design vocabulary and Five elements of kelvin lynch

PLAZA, SQUARE, STREET,MORPHOLOGY,FIGUREGROUND
A square is a type of plaza.
Square is actually a square or a rectangular block of
cement or grass that allows people to sit and enjoy the
day.
An open area or plaza in a city or town, formed by the
meeting or intersecting of two or more streets and often
planted with grass, trees, etc., in the centre.
In the United States a town square typically consists of a
park or plaza in front of the original county courthouse
or town hall.

Lecture -03 Urban Design B.Arch.

Ar. Lenin

http://www.ll-itc-laila.it/archivio/news_2011/london

Gateway College of Architecture And Design

Urban design vocabulary and Five elements of kelvin lynch

PLAZA, SQUARE, STREET,MORPHOLOGY,FIGUREGROUND
A street is a public thoroughfare (usually paved) in a
built environment. It is a public parcel
of land adjoining buildings in an urban context, on which
people may freely assemble, interact, and move about. A
street can be as simple as a level patch of dirt, but is
more often paved with a hard, durable surface such
as concrete, cobblestone or brick. Portions may also be
smoothed with asphalt, embedded with rails, or
otherwise prepared to accommodate non
pedestrian traffic.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Street

Lecture -03 Urban Design B.Arch.

Ar. Lenin

Gateway College of Architecture And Design

Urban design vocabulary and Five elements of kelvin lynch

Elements of Urban Design given by Kelvin Lynch

Urban morphology is the study of the form of human settlements and the process of their
formation and transformation.
The study seeks to understand the spatial structure and character of a metropolitan
area, city, town or village by examining the patterns of its component parts and the process
of its development.
This can involve the analysis of physical structures at different scales as well as patterns of
movement, land use, ownership or control and occupation.
Typically, analysis of physical form focuses on street pattern, lot (or, in the UK, plot)
pattern and building pattern, sometimes referred to collectively as urban grain.
Analysis of specific settlements is usually undertaken using cartographic sources and the
process of development is deduced from comparison of historic maps.
http://www.quazoo.com/q/Urban_morphology

Lecture -03 Urban Design B.Arch.

Ar. Lenin

Gateway College of Architecture And Design

Urban design vocabulary and Five elements of kelvin lynch

Elements of Urban Design given by Kelvin Lynch

http://www.suckerpunchdaily.com/wpcontent/uploads/2014/07/01___URBAN_MORPHOLOGY_SIMULATION___generating_the_masterplan-436x332.jpg
http://www.eugeniomorello.eu/

Lecture -03 Urban Design B.Arch.

Ar. Lenin

Gateway College of Architecture And Design

FIVE ELEMENTS OF KELVIN LYNCH

Elements of Urban Design given by Kelvin Lynch
The Concern of the City image so far studied, which are referable so physical forms, can
conveniently be classified in to five type of elements.
Paths, edges ,districts, nodes, and landmarks .
Theses elements may be of more general application, since they seem to reappear in many
types of environmental images.
1. Paths -They are the channels along which observer customarily , occasionally ,or
potentially moves. They may be streets, walkways, transit lines, canals, railroad.
For many people, these are predominant elements in their image.
People observer the city while moving through it and along theses path other environmental
elements are arrange and related.

Lecture -03 Urban Design B.Arch.

Ar. Lenin

Gateway College of Architecture And Design

FIVE ELEMENTS OF KELVIN LYNCH

Elements of Urban Design given by Kelvin Lynch

2. Edges
They are the linear elements nor used or considered as the path by observer .
They are the boundaries between two phases, linear breaks in continuty , shores, railroad edged
of development ,wall.
Edges are may be barries, more or less permerrable, which close one region off from another
,or they may be seams, line along which two regions are related and joined together.
Edges elements although probably not as dominant as paths , are for many people important
organinzimg features ,particularly in the role of holding together generalized area ,as in the
outline of a city by water or wall.

Lecture -03 Urban Design B.Arch.

Ar. Lenin

Gateway College of Architecture And Design

FIVE ELEMENTS OF KELVIN LYNCH

Elements of Urban Design given by Kelvin Lynch

DISTRICT
District are the medium-to large sections of the city, conceived of as having twodimensional extent, which the observer mentally enter inside of and which are
recognizable as having some common, identifying character.
Always identifiable from inside, they are also used for exterior reference if visible
from the outside.
Most people structure their city to some extent in this way, with individual difference
as to whether paths or district are the dominant elements.
It seems to depend not only upon the individual but also upon the given city.

Lecture -03 Urban Design B.Arch.

Ar. Lenin

Gateway College of Architecture And Design

FIVE ELEMENTS OF KELVIN LYNCH

Elements of Urban Design given by Kelvin Lynch

Nodes
They are points , the Strategic spots in a city into which an observer can enter , and which
are the intensive foci to from which he is traveling.
They may be primarily junction, places of break in transportation, crossing or convergence
of paths, moments of shift from one structure to another or node be may be simply
concentrations, which gain their importance of some use or physical character ,as a street
corner hangout or an enclosed square .
Some of these Concentration nodes are the focus and epitome of a district over which
Their influence radiates and of which they stand as a symbol. They may be called cores .
In any event , some nodal points are to be the dominant feature.

Lecture -03 Urban Design B.Arch.

Ar. Lenin

Gateway College of Architecture And Design

FIVE ELEMENTS OF KELVIN LYNCH

Elements of Urban Design given by Kelvin Lynch

Landmark
They are another type of point reference ,but in this case the observer does not enter within
them,they are external.
They are usually physical object , building ,sign ,score, mountain.
Some landmarks are distant ones ,typically seen from many angles and distance , over the
tops of smaller elements and used as a radial references.
They may be within the city or at such a distance that all practical .
Purpose they symbolize a constant direction .Such are isolated towers, golden dome, great
hills.
Other landmarks are primarily local being visible only in restricted localities and form
certain approaches .
They are frequently used clues of identification and even of structure and seen to be
increasingly relied upon as a journey become more and more familiar.

Lecture -03 Urban Design B.Arch.

Ar. Lenin

Gateway College of Architecture And Design

FIVE ELEMENTS OF KELVIN LYNCH

Elements of Urban Design given by Kelvin Lynch

http://designforwalking.com/files/Post-2A.-Paths-in-Lynch.400.jpg

http://contemporarycity.org/2014/03/kevin-lynch/

District- Recognizable as having some common identifying character.

https://www.pinterest.com/pin/320318592221550910/
Landmark- prominent feature of the city.
Node- Centre of Activity.
Pathway- Network of major and minor road.
Lecture -03 Urban Design B.Arch.

Ar. Lenin

Gateway College of Architecture And Design