1 Urban Strolls [ A reflection on pedestrians situation in heavy traffic urban space ] QIANQIAN YU 2019 SPRING MASTER THESIS Examiner: Kengo Skorick Supervisor: Joaquim Tarrasó Department of Architecture and Civil Engineering Chalmers University of Techonology 2 3 /Urban Strolls . A reflection on pedestrians situation in heavy traffic urban space /Improve pedestrians walking experience through the medium of space formation, traffic organization and human sensation /key words: pedestrians . overpass . movement space . experience space . landscape architecture . topographical . walkable city ©2019 Qianqian Yu qianqianyu.1994@hotmail.com Chalmers University of Technology Department of Architecture and Civil Engineering Master Thesis in Urban Challenges Direction Gothenburg, Sweden 2019 Examiner: Kengo Skorick Supervisor: Joaquim Tarrasó "...We shape our buildings and afterwards they shape us. They regulate the course of our lives." -----Winston Churchill, addressing the English Architectural Association, 1924 4 5 ACKNOWLEDGEMENT STUDENT BACKGROUND Kengo Skorick, as my examiner, you encouraged me all the time during the whole process and always gave me new perspectives when I got stuck. Joaquim Tarrasó and Emilio Da Cruz Brandao, as my supervisors, you always gave me good suggestions during every single tutorials, and pushed me to think over and over to achieve a higher level. Peter Christensson for sharing your knowledge and books to me even though I had no direct relationship to your thesis direction. My best friends Jinnuo and Amal for always cheering me up. Pe n g y u and Q i l o n g for g iv in g me a cademic suggestions and help. All my student colleagues in Urban Challenges Direction for all the good time that we had and helps from each other. And my dearest Mom and Dad for always supporting me no matter of what and let me feel that I am not alone even I am far from my home in China. THANKS TO: Shanghai, China Bachelor of Arts in Environmental Design Historical Building Repair Master of Architecture and Urban Design Previous Studios: Architecture and Urban Space Design Spatial Morphology Matter Space Structure Munich Urban Design Int’l Shanghai Co. Ltd. CA-GROUP Tongji University . Shanghai . China University of Bologna . Bologna . Italy Chalmers University of Technology Gothenburg . Sweden Autumn 2017 . Examiner: Joaquim Tarrasó Spring 2018 . Examiner: Meta Berghauser Pont Autumn 2018 . Examiner: Morten Lund Shanghai . China Shanghai . China 1994 . 12 .21 2013-2017 2015 2017-2019 2016 2018 BASIC INFORMATION BACHELOR MASTER INTERNSHIP 6 7 The idea of this master thesis topic came from a daily habbit, which is taking pictures to the feet when standing on different places. After a bunch of collections, it has been found that walking experience plays a lot for pedestrian, and it is an importent part of the daily life for everyone. When we look back to Gothenburg city nowadays, pedestrians seem to be placed as the least important stakeholder in urban planning, it seems does not matter that much if people need to detour around vehicles, but then after 50 years, the city will not be owned by citizens any more, instead, vehicles are the real owner. [ Source of Inspiration ] [ Current Situation ] When we look back to Gothenburg city nowadays, pedestrians seem to be placed as the least important stakeholder in urban planning, it seems does not matter that much if people need to detour around vehicles, but then after 50 years, the city will not be owned by citizens any more, instead, vehicles are the real owner. THESIS BACKGROUNDCONTENTS I. PREAMBLE Abstract A philosophy of walking Walking and space Discourse Delimitation Actants & Stakeholders Relevance Methodology II. CONTEXT Site description Challenges Opportunities Concept Mapping III. STRATEGY Learn from reference Design Elements Mind Map IV. INTERVENTION Design Loop Work with Topography Work with Boundary Work with Human Scale New Pedestrian Road System V. IMPLEMENTATION Overall Plan Landscape 1 Landscape 2 Exhibition Space Physical Model Photos REFERENCES CONCLUSION BIBLIOGRAPHY APPENDIX [8] 9 10-15 16-17 18 19 20 20 21 [22] 23 24-29 30-33 34-35 [36] 37 38 39 [40] 41 42-47 48 49 50-55 [56] 56-57 58-61 62-65 66-67 68-69 [70-75] [76-77] [78-79] [80-85] 8 9 I PREAMBLE The aim of this master thesis is to discuss "how urban environment affect pedestrians' walking experience in a heavy traffic area in Gothenburg thereby build it into a walkable city?" Gothenburg is the freight center of Sweden where hundreds of thousands of freights happen in the city every day, which commands a high speed and qualified traffic system. Simultaneously, the city itself is also the second largest city in Sweden. Till year of 2019, there have been 581822 citizens living in this 447.8 km² city,(Gothenburg Population, 2019) which create a big challenge to urban public space, especially pedestrians' walking space. The fact is, the space for pedestrians are decreasing as the space for traffic and freight increased a lot, and in most cases, pedestrians share the space with huge amount of traffic, they were first pushed upon the building façade and then squeezed along shrinking sidewalks (Jan Gehl, 2010) which is an unsafe and awkward experience. As the city is developing, the government and municipality usually put more focus on how to build the roads wider, bridge longer and tunnel deeper, the basic rights of pedestrians are being continuously reduced. Those industrial infrastructures split the city up into several small pieces which create more barriers for pedestrians to break. When we look back into the city itself. The outer periphery of Gothenburg is mainly occupied by overpass and wide roads for traffic. However, these areas are also with way more residential area than the city center. Heavy traffic whizzing right besides pedestrians, the feeling of insecurity and fear when walking along the street or crossing a road happens to everyone who must go across the area. At the same time walking itself feels so boring when there is nothing to look at and nowhere to stay for a while. Simultaneously, those areas with a complex traffic system always has a more interesting and potential site than a normal street in the city center, and compared to most Asian cities, the overpass here in Gothenburg are way smaller, and is more suitable for human scale. Thus, a landscape architecture which will be lifted above the existing traffic roads is a possible and unique solution in nordic country. ABSTRACT [ Thesis Question ] PREAMBLE 10 11 PREAMBLE PREAMBLE Before getting into the analysis and design, the first question I asked myself was "What does walking mean for me? How to define walking? And what is the philosophy of walking?" As a human being, no one can avoid walking during everyday's life, it is as important as breathing and drinking but we seldom notice its importance. What makes it imperative but also unheeded is probably because we never only walking while walking. Frédéric Gros published his famous book of walking [Marcher, une philosophie] first in 2011: “First of all, there is the suspensive freedom that comes by walking, even a simple short stroll: throwing off the burden of cares, forgetting business for a time. You choose to leave the office behind, go out, stroll around, think about other things. With a longer excursion of several days, the process of self-liberation is accentuated: you escape the constraints of work, throw off the yoke of routine. But how could walking make you feel this freedom more than a long journey?” (Frédéric Gros, A Philosophy of Walking, 2011) There is always a contradiction between freedom and limitation, but they can also exist within the same host. Walking is such a special host. Richard Long produced his art piece "Walking a Line in Peru" in 1972, in which he expressed his art spirit—— they consist in the art of walking itself, and his art is made by walking. It is hard to tell whether walking gives the freedom or limit somehow in such an art work. (Richard Long, 1972) -> A PHILOSOPHY OF WALKING [ What gives you freedoms ] Freedom or Restriction ? 12 13 Rebecca Solnit released her [Wanderlust: A History of Walking] in the year 2000, in which she wrote"Walking itself is the intentional act closest to the unwilled rhythms of the body, to breathing and the beating of the heart. It strikes a delicate balance between working and idling, being and doing. It is a bodily labor that produces nothing but thoughts, experiences, arrivals." (Rebecca Solnit, Wanderlust: A History of Walking, 2000) Walking can be a pure body movement, but it can also be beyond that. A series of landscape can create a better walking sequence, as Gros said “…It is still ruled by powerful necessities. To complete a given stage you have to walk so many hours, meaning so many paces; scope for improvisation is limited, you aren’t wandering down garden paths and you have to turn the right way at junctions, or you’ll regret it.” (Frédéric Gros, 2011) Therefore, this is not just a movement happens to a single person, instead, walking itself tightly links human and environment. [ What makes it beyond movement ] In the 1950s in Japan the Gutai group began to use the human body as a tool for pictorial gesture. Artists like Shiraga painted large informal calligraphic works using their footprints. Kanayama put the footprints on a canvas to construct a path that moves from the ground into the trees. (Kanayama, 1950s) -> Self or Environment ? 14 15 “Days of slow walking are very long: they make you live longer, because you have allowed every hour, every minute, every second to breathe, to deepen, instead of filling them up by straining the joints.” (Frédéric Gros, 2011) As Gros stated. "Slowness means cleaving perfectly to time, and walking has this magic to make the time so closely that the seconds fall one by one, drop by drop like the steady dripping of a tap on stone… It is one of the secrets of walking that a slow approach to landscapes that gradually renders them familiar…When we are walking, it isn’t so much that we are drawing nearer, more that the things out there become more and more insistent in our body. The landscape is a set of tastes, colors, scents which the body absorbs." (Frédéric Gros, 2011) Speed, always the theme of walking, can also be changed dramatically by walking. It is an interaction for both pedestrian and road. But beyond speed, it is the whole procedure of walking has an psychological impact on human. [ What has a psychological impact ] One very tangible expression of psychogeographical studies, were the series of maps of Paris which Guy Debord produced in the late 1950's and which were shown in "The First Psychogeographic Exhibition" ("Première exposition de psychgéographie") in 1957. These maps, derived from Debord's psychogeographic studies, were made through the method of 'détournement' ('the integration of past or gift artistic creation into a superior environmental construction') within which fragments of existing works area unit taken and rearranged or close to provide new meanings. (Guy Debord, 1950's) -> Physically or Mentally ? 16 17 "Walking causes a repetitive, spontaneous poetry to rise naturally to the lips, words as simple as the sound of footsteps on the road. There also seems to be an echo of walking in the practice of two choruses singing a psalm in alternate verses, each on a single note, a practice that makes it possible to chant and listen by turns...And just as Claudel said that sound renders silence accessible and useful, it ought to be said that walking renders presence accessible and useful." (Frédéric Gros, 2011) Gros pointed out that walking is never a single movement. In another word, walking always has an physical impact on surrounding environment as well as a psychological impact to the one who walk inside that environment. Movement and surrounding space, thus never work alone. WALKING and SPACE [ Movement and Space, they never work alone ] The art work "Secant" created by Carl Andre in 1977 was a milestone for contemporary art. Carl's technique involved neither sculpting nor carving, instead, he rellied exclusively on proportions that were in accordance with the environment. This work emphasizes on exploration, acting as both a path for the viewer and a means to strengthen the concept of "place". (Carl Andre, 1977) -> Movement and Experience ... 18 19 The discourse of this master thesis will mainly focus on three parts, which are "walkable city", "the psychological impact of the built environment on people" and "acoustic sustainability". To explain the first part of discourse, safety and security should be the first problem to solve, then we can talk about comfort and air quality, the attractiveness of the design itself as well as surroundings, intermodality, accessibility to each important direction, social pleasure and the environment itself. The second important part of discourse is the psychological impact of the built environment on people, mainly reflects in the five senses of human, space and light of the environment and physiological factors. For the third part of discourse, acoustic sustainability should be considered, as the sound pollution from vehicles is one of the most serious pollutions to the city environment, to reduce negative sound impact should also be included in the thesis. The delimitation will be the guideline of future design that which part should be considered first and put into the most important place. The first part will talk about the aspects of social, acoustic and biodiversity. In the social aspect, the design should let social inclusion happen more frequently, and get as much as citizens involved in this 'untouchable area'; in the acoustic aspect, sound pollution should be reduced as much as possible by the new installations, and give pedestrian a relative comfortable experience when using the space; in the biodiversity aspect, since there are various of plants on the site, get these biological be part of the design is also quite important. In the second part, the city should be a meeting place, where the aspects like accessibility, shared space, movement and program hierachy should be considered. A nice urban space should be merged with various functions, at the same time, movement spaces which are the main sidewalks and experience spaces which are the functional areas should work with each other so that the whole site will be more integrated and barriers will be simultaneously reduced. The third part is about build the area into a safe and healthy place, which will mainly talk about how to follow the rule 'pedestrian first', and improve walking experience, at the same time, spatial quality should also be considered. As Jan Gehl wrote in his book , "…And when speed in urban areas is increased from 5 to 60 or 100km/h, all spatial dimensions increase dramatically, and images and visions for likely cityscapes follow along." (Jan Gehl,2004)Therefore, the idea is to put pedestrian and traffic into different levels. The design will not change existing traffic system but try to find a way bypass the heavy traffic which may bring high risks of unsafety. In the long term development, the existing overpass for both pedestrians and vehicles might be removed, so the ideal situation is that the new intervention can still be the 'bridge' in this area which does not reply on the current structure. The last part is about studys on pedestrian, which will mainly study envionmental psychology, their behavior analysis and physical contact. DISCOURSE /safety&security /comfort&air quality /attractiveness /intermodality /accessibility /social pleasure /environment /thermal /visual /acoustic /tactile /space&light /physiological factors/traffic sound level /no bothersome car traffic /environmental-friendly walkable city acoustic sustainability The psychological impact of the built environment on people PREAMBLE PREAMBLE su st ai na bi li ty economic multifunctional cultural center huge change of traffic system ergonomics seasonal influence traffic pollution acoustic shared space improve walking experience behavior analysis social accessibility pedestrian first environmental psychology biodiversity movement spatial quality physical contact program hierachyth e ci ty a s m ee ti ng pl ac e sa fe a nd he al th y c it y pe de st ri an st ud y IT'S NOT ABOUT IT'S ABOUT DELIMITATION 20 21 ACTANTS & STAKEHOLDERS shopping center Kvillestråket tram station Ringön Frihamnen heavy tra�c heavy tra�c railway tram lane st ak eh ol de rs ac ti vi ti es cyclist pedestrian heavy traffic to take a tram/bus to an attraction just go across jogging The main stakeholder in my case is pedestrians with different motivations as well as cyclist and huge amount of traffic. Among the pedestrians, there are those who only go across the area, jogging, or to take a tram or bus. Simultaneously, with a lot of attractions surrounded by, a large amount of pedestrians are here for those attractions. Some parts of the sidewalk are really comfortable to walk on with a certain distance to the traffic area, but most of them is unsafe, boring and complicated to walk across. Based on the main group of stakeholders, how to keep the main function of the area and improve the walking experience at the same time is the main issue of this thesis project. PREAMBLE PREAMBLE RELEVANCE so ci al ar ch it ec tu re en vi ro nm en t social inclusion & interaction more often break the barrier, more integrated public space environmental sustainability, reduce sound pollution pedestrian safety & comfort pedestrian friendly provide a solution for other similar traffic situation METHODOLOGY Qualitative & Quantitative Method The project will be a design that trying to solve the problem of embarassing situation of pedestrians in a heavy traffic area. It will be a landscape architecture with a structure that allows people to go through the space easily and comfortably as well as experience the space itself. On a larger scale, it can also connect the area to surrounding hot spots. Method: A series of different methods will be mix-used in the whole process of design. Case and Literature studies Since the project has quite a lot aspects that has not been fully studied in previous education background, literature study is quite important to gain these knowledge; from looking at other built or unbuilt references, some unnecessary mistakes could be avoided during the proccess, and it can also explain better theoretical approaches in a real public space case. Site and Scenario analysis The site in this case is an important starting point, which tells the weaknesses and opportunities in a real urban situation. Furthermore, getting a clear clue to the context of the site and surrounding areas can gain a higher value to the design itself. Observations Observations of both pedestrians and the site are used to understand the users behavior and site potentials better. [Written Description] people's behavior existing traffic situation surrounding environment [Photograph & Video] [Audio Recording] sound from walking on the ground sound from the traffic sound from the wind Tools: Physical models will be used as analog to advance design, and a lot of digital tools will be used to get a visual testing for the design, such as grasshopper, which will be used for testing different material that will influence the walking experience and rhino, which can create a direct impression of the design. [Extract GPS information] tools using: openstreetmap TomTom City Technologies: Since the design in a way care about people's emotion and objective feelings while walking, some speculative methods of explaining the design might be used. [Grasshopper Shortest Path] tools using: grasshopper in Rhino 22 23 II CONTEXT SITE DESCRIPTION m ot or w ay -L un db yl ed en ra il- Ham nban an tram-Hjalmar Brantingsgatan minor road-Lundby Hamngata re si de nt ia l r oa d- Fr ih am ne n Hjalmar Brantingsgatan Transportation Hub Located at a triangular area among Frihamnen, Ringön and Backaplan, Hjalmar Brantingsgatan Transportation Hub is one of the most important transportation center in Gothenburg city. Besides public transportation system, huge amount of private cars and trucks speeding across the area every day and every second. Five directions of main roads creat the feature of this complicated place where pedestrians have no choice but to walk along the edge of the road or go down into a dark and wet underground tunnel to reach another place. CONTEXT 0 4 8 m 24 25 Frihamnen road street high t ram rails tr am ra ils r oad street high Ringön tram rails r ail way railway Backa m otorway Ba ck a parking lot motorway B acka residential area tunnel & secondary roads p ar kin g lo t residential area sq ua re parkin g lo t topography Frihamnen road street high t ram rails tr am ra ils r oad street high Ringön tram rails r ail way railway Backa m otorway Ba ck a parking lot motorway B acka residential area tunnel & secondary roads p ar kin g lo t residential area sq ua re parkin g lo t topography retainable boundaries main boundaries breakable boundaries I. CHALLENGE: BOUNDARIES Legend: boundaries Legend: boundaries CONTEXT CONTEXT 0 4 8 m This complicated traffic network therefore created a lot of barriers for pedestrians, along with a problem of sound pollution and safety issue which brought a bad walking experience. Here 9 most problematical areas among the site has been listed with breakable and retainable barriers. The site is a complex transportation hub where it has 12 types of roads with different allowed access, and they are heading to 5 main directions. A motor way which has the highest hierarchy connects with a tunnel leading to the other side of the river as well as south-west part of Gothenburg city; several tram line going to Hjalmar Brantingsgatan; a residential road connects Frihamnen and Ringon; a minor road and a railway. 26 27 motor way foot path cycle path path Legend: allowed access Legend: road congestion Foot Motor Vehicles Bicycles Horses None Not specified-bicycles Not specified-horses Closed Slow Slight Congestion Good Optimal secondary road tertiary road residential road minor/ unclassified Road service road steps tram rail II. CHALLENGE: HEAVY TRAFFIC 10:36 13:37 15:52 17:01 23:47 Resource: TomTom CityResource: OpenStreetMap CONTEXT CONTEXT During the daytime, traffic roads also need to be faced with different levels of congestion which make it even impossible to have a continuous walking experience. 12 different hierachy roads formed this complex traffic network. When walking in this area, it is hard to be distracted by surrounded views but only pay attention to the roads that you are walking on. There are too many unsafe factors need to be concerned. [ Road Hierachy ] [ On-time Traffic Situation ] 28 29 no shelter heavy wind, freezing loud traffic noise several motor vehicle lane under the bridge seperated from the big traffic bicycle lane | sidewalk loud noise under the mtorway seperated from the big traffic bicycle lane | sidewalk large open space relatively safe bicycle lane | sidewalk seperated from the big traffic loud noise no zebra crossing heavy traffic inconvenient to cross safer area bicycle lane / sidewalk bus station unsafe to go cross best environment bicycle lane / sidewalk low noise intensive traffic narrow pedestrian space feel dangerous downhill pedestrian tunnel bicycle lane / sidewalk feel safe downhill pedestrian tunnel bicycle lane / sidewalk dark, feel unsafe feel unsafe with vehicles front and back the way to bus station intensive traffic tuyere inconvenient to cross tuyere greening isolates motor lanes feel very safe visually safe pedestrian roads open and wide vision no zebra crossing motor vehicle lane | sidewalk pretty unsafe uphill pedestrian tunnel bicycle lane + sidewalk feel safe outside pedestrian tunnel bicycle lane + sidewalk feel safe and comfortable bicycle lane | sidewalk feel safe visually 1 6 2 7 3 8 4 5 10 20 15 19 14 18 13 17 12 16 11 9 1 2 3 4 5 6 78 9 10 1112 1314 15 1 2 3 4 5 6 78 9 10 1112 16 17 18 19 20 1314 15 CONTEXT CONTEXT III. CHALLENGE: SOUND POLLUTION During the site visit, several sound records has also been made while walking along the current pedestrian paths, and it appears that the sound level tells the openness of the pedestrian path as well as the distance to traffic. As Gros wrote in the book , one always walks in silence...You are out of the world's chatter, its corridor echoes, its muttering. Walking: it hits you initially like Associate in Nursing huge inhaling the ears. You feel the silence as if it were a good contemporary wind processing away clouds.(Frédéric Gros, 2011) But when there is no beautiful sound but only crazy noises whistling in the ears, how can walking become an enjoyable tour? [ Recorded Sound Level On Site ] 30 31 5min 10min important traffic junction with attractions surrounded different terrain heights complicated traffic environment bad walking experience I. OPPORTUNITY: SURROUNDED PROPERTIES CONTEXT CONTEXT 32 33 CONTEXT CONTEXT A-A section B-B section C-C section D-D section E-E section F-F section G-G section II. OPPORTUNITY: TOPOGRAPHY 0m 0m 25m 50m 75m 100m 125m 150m 175m 200m 254m225m 4m 2m 0m 25m 50m 75m 100m 125m 150m 175m200m 185m225m 6m 2m 5m 0m 7.5m 15m 22.5m 30m 37.5m 45m 52.5m 60m 67.5m 75m 82.5m 90m 97.5m 128m105m 112m 120m 4m 3m 2m -1m 0m 25m 50m 75m 100m 125m 150m 183m 4m 4m 2m 1m 0m 25m 50m 75m 100m 125m 150m 175m 200m 243m225m 5m 5m 2m 0m 25m 50m 75m 100m 125m 150m 175m 195m 4m 2m 3m 0m 10m 50m 60m 70m 80m 90m40m30m20m 100m 110m 120m 130m 140m 166m150m 5m 3m 3m 0m 0m 25m 50m 75m 100m 125m 150m 175m 200m 254m225m 4m 2m 0m 25m 50m 75m 100m 125m 150m 175m200m 185m225m 6m 2m 5m 0m 7.5m 15m 22.5m 30m 37.5m 45m 52.5m 60m 67.5m 75m 82.5m 90m 97.5m 128m105m 112m 120m 4m 3m 2m -1m 0m 25m 50m 75m 100m 125m 150m 183m 4m 4m 2m 1m 0m 25m 50m 75m 100m 125m 150m 175m 200m 243m225m 5m 5m 2m 0m 25m 50m 75m 100m 125m 150m 175m 195m 4m 2m 3m 0m 10m 50m 60m 70m 80m 90m40m30m20m 100m 110m 120m 130m 140m 166m150m 5m 3m 3m 0m 0m 25m 50m 75m 100m 125m 150m 175m 200m 254m225m 4m 2m 0m 25m 50m 75m 100m 125m 150m 175m200m 185m225m 6m 2m 5m 0m 7.5m 15m 22.5m 30m 37.5m 45m 52.5m 60m 67.5m 75m 82.5m 90m 97.5m 128m105m 112m 120m 4m 3m 2m -1m 0m 25m 50m 75m 100m 125m 150m 183m 4m 4m 2m 1m 0m 25m 50m 75m 100m 125m 150m 175m 200m 243m225m 5m 5m 2m 0m 25m 50m 75m 100m 125m 150m 175m 195m 4m 2m 3m 0m 10m 50m 60m 70m 80m 90m40m30m20m 100m 110m 120m 130m 140m 166m150m 5m 3m 3m 0m 0m 25m 50m 75m 100m 125m 150m 175m 200m 254m225m 4m 2m 0m 25m 50m 75m 100m 125m 150m 175m200m 185m225m 6m 2m 5m 0m 7.5m 15m 22.5m 30m 37.5m 45m 52.5m 60m 67.5m 75m 82.5m 90m 97.5m 128m105m 112m 120m 4m 3m 2m -1m 0m 25m 50m 75m 100m 125m 150m 183m 4m 4m 2m 1m 0m 25m 50m 75m 100m 125m 150m 175m 200m 243m225m 5m 5m 2m 0m 25m 50m 75m 100m 125m 150m 175m 195m 4m 2m 3m 0m 10m 50m 60m 70m 80m 90m40m30m20m 100m 110m 120m 130m 140m 166m150m 5m 3m 3m 0m 0m 25m 50m 75m 100m 125m 150m 175m 200m 254m225m 4m 2m 0m 25m 50m 75m 100m 125m 150m 175m200m 185m225m 6m 2m 5m 0m 7.5m 15m 22.5m 30m 37.5m 45m 52.5m 60m 67.5m 75m 82.5m 90m 97.5m 128m105m 112m 120m 4m 3m 2m -1m 0m 25m 50m 75m 100m 125m 150m 183m 4m 4m 2m 1m 0m 25m 50m 75m 100m 125m 150m 175m 200m 243m225m 5m 5m 2m 0m 25m 50m 75m 100m 125m 150m 175m 195m 4m 2m 3m 0m 10m 50m 60m 70m 80m 90m40m30m20m 100m 110m 120m 130m 140m 166m150m 5m 3m 3m 0m 0m 25m 50m 75m 100m 125m 150m 175m 200m 254m225m 4m 2m 0m 25m 50m 75m 100m 125m 150m 175m200m 185m225m 6m 2m 5m 0m 7.5m 15m 22.5m 30m 37.5m 45m 52.5m 60m 67.5m 75m 82.5m 90m 97.5m 128m105m 112m 120m 4m 3m 2m -1m 0m 25m 50m 75m 100m 125m 150m 183m 4m 4m 2m 1m 0m 25m 50m 75m 100m 125m 150m 175m 200m 243m225m 5m 5m 2m 0m 25m 50m 75m 100m 125m 150m 175m 195m 4m 2m 3m 0m 10m 50m 60m 70m 80m 90m40m30m20m 100m 110m 120m 130m 140m 166m150m 5m 3m 3m 0m 0m 25m 50m 75m 100m 125m 150m 175m 200m 254m225m 4m 2m 0m 25m 50m 75m 100m 125m 150m 175m200m 185m225m 6m 2m 5m 0m 7.5m 15m 22.5m 30m 37.5m 45m 52.5m 60m 67.5m 75m 82.5m 90m 97.5m 128m105m 112m 120m 4m 3m 2m -1m 0m 25m 50m 75m 100m 125m 150m 183m 4m 4m 2m 1m 0m 25m 50m 75m 100m 125m 150m 175m 200m 243m225m 5m 5m 2m 0m 25m 50m 75m 100m 125m 150m 175m 195m 4m 2m 3m 0m 10m 50m 60m 70m 80m 90m40m30m20m 100m 110m 120m 130m 140m 166m150m 5m 3m 3m A B C D E F G A B C D E F G -long distance(boring) -too close to busy traffic(unsafe) -visually(uncomfortable) -olfactory(bad smell) -hearing(noisy) -people have a low sense of a long,boring road -empty accessible area is nowhere -segmented walking space -merge movement space and experience space -spatial division by density -feel unsafe when there is no visual barrier -multi-dimensional space Problems Divergent thinking Possible solution -psychological impact -design from the five senses of people -how built environment influence emotion&behavior-behavioral influence ANALYSIS SUMMARY After a bunch of data collections and site analysis, it became more and more interesting that superficially the place was an unwelcomed area but there have been a lot of opportunities hidden behind. How to overcome these weaknesses and create it into a valueable place became the main question that led the whole design process later on. 34 35 1 2 5 3 5 2 6 -1 2 4 CONTEXTUAL MAPPING Legend: Motor way Secondary Road Tertiary Road Tram Minor/Unclassified Road Rail Cycle Path Foot Path Boundaries Sections Crowded Roads CONTEXT CONTEXT 0 3 12 m 36 37 III STRATEGY RAILWAY DAKAKKER POMPENBURG PARK BUSINESS IN CUBATOR THE LUCHTSINGEL STATION HOFPLEIN GREEN ROOF [Agents]: road system [Design Elements]: ground materials, attractions, functions [Parameters]: ground roughness [Outcome]: public accessibility, emotional feeling [Agents]: road system,existing properties [Design Elements]: destinations, pedestrian flows, functions [Parameters]: space length, space height [Outcome]: walking speed, emotional feeling, space sequence [Agents]: road system,existing properties [Design Elements]: destinations, pedestrian flows, layers [Parameters]: space length, space height [Outcome]: walking speed, emotional feeling, space sequence [Agents]: road system,pedestrians [Design Elements]: attractions, ground material, functions [Parameters]: boundaries, ground roughness [Outcome]: emotional feeling, activities LEARN FROM 'Luchtsingel Rotterdam' STRATEGY 38 39 STRATEGY STRATEGY pedestrians AGENTS ELEMENTS PARAMETERS OUTCOME destinations (further points) space length walking speed cars attractions (inner points) wind speed public accessibility topography ground materials ground roughness emotional feeling wind pedestrian flows (inner lines) space height space sequence properties functions boundaries activities road system layers biodiversity space utilization behavior spatial perception spatial perception spatial perception larger scale various types of terrain | structure human senses human senses human senses types of building | attractions smaller scale traffic disturbance delimitation walkable space DESIGN ELEMENTS WALKABLE CITY site traffic pedestrians safetyspeed attractions/ destinations road systemtopography opportunities Agents Parameters I Parameters II boundaries traffic efficiency boundaries flows MIND MAP Based on the site analysis and theory study, the idea of "Walkable City" came out from the mist, in which has topography, road system and boundaries as the three main parameters. Topography in a way is related to accessibility; boundary is a mixture of both breakable and retainable barriers; road system is related to human behavior, which will be discussed more in the human scale. The following implementation is based on this mind map. 40 41 IV INTERVENTION TOPOGRAPHY BOUNDARIES HUMAN SCALE draft model-find possibilities break them! set rules-new grids visual connection up and down relationship define the new road system specific design for each space INTERVENTION DESIGN LOOP The design went through a repetitive thinking about “Topography-Boundaries-Human Scale”. It is started with an observation of existing topography and I tried to find opportunities from it to create new accessibilities. Then it went through boundaries where I discussed which boundaries I want to break and which part I want to keep as the outframe of my design. Later on, it went to human scale where I thought more about how people could feel in a smaller scale. This design loop guided the whole design process and made the whole structure rigid and logical. 42 43 I. WORK WITH: TOPOGRAPHY INTERVENTION INTERVENTION 1. where are the existing obstacles? 2. where is the opportunistic area? 3. which part of accessibility need to be improved? 1. map and inner sections 2. sections overlook 3. with open vistas 4. where to have new accessibility? 44 45 200m 225m 250m175m150m125m100m75m50m25m0m 4m 3m tram 200m 225m 250m175m150m125m100m75m50m25m0m 4m 3m tram 200m 225m 250m175m150m125m100m75m50m25m0m 4m 3m 200m 225m 250m175m150m125m100m75m50m25m0m 4m 3m 200m 225m 250m175m150m125m100m75m50m25m0m 200m 225m 250m175m150m125m100m75m50m25m0m 200m 225m 250m175m150m125m100m75m50m25m0m S 0.0 S 0.1 P 1.1 S 0.2 P 1.2 S 0.3 P 1.3 0. Sections 1. Plans-Accessibility INTERVENTION INTERVENTION [ draft sketch on height differences according to existing topography ] [ a tentative idea about new accessibilities based on current overpass ] 46 47 F 3.1D 2.1 F 3.2D 2.2 F 3.3D 2.3 2. Plans-Directions 3. Plans-Overlapped functions INTERVENTION INTERVENTION 200m 225m 250m175m150m125m100m75m50m25m0m 200m 225m 250m175m150m125m100m75m50m25m0m 200m 225m 250m175m150m125m100m75m50m25m0m 200m 225m 250m175m150m125m100m75m50m25m0m 200m 225m 250m175m150m125m100m75m50m25m0m 200m 225m 250m175m150m125m100m75m50m25m0m [ a tentative idea about new directions ] [ a tentative idea about creating new funational areas ] 48 49 II. WORK WITH: BOUNDARIES INTERVENTION INTERVENTION Boundaries here are one of the main difficuties for pedestrians to overcome, everytime when someone tring to get from one side to another, there are several hard choices to make. The first one is a vague pedestrian route. It is hard to define which way should go visually, which may cause hesitation and doubts when crossing a heavy traffic area; the second one is detoured roads, which make the tour even more boring and exhausting; the third one is 'zero- distance' to traffic roads, it is quite easy to find many cases like this here: cars speeding pass with loud noise and strong wind, when it comes to a rainy day, it could get worse with rain splashing on pedestrians. Due to such a short distance and without any physical protections, pedestrians have to stay close to the other edge of the road With these boundaries, a lot of opportunistic open areas are created at the same time. Right now they are not used in an efficient way, but with such a large area, quite a lot of activities and possibilities can happen there. Walking across the whole area,it is not difficult to see that the eastern part of the site has more complicated but potential area based on the topography difference. Continue walking through the tunnel, it appears a wide open area with an interesting under-bridge space to be discovered. After turnning around at the market area, here is Hjalmar Brantingsgatan public transportation center, and just next to it is the foot path as well as cycle path connecting to the southern part of the site. III. WORK WITH: HUMAN SCALES “When we walk at our usual speed of four to five km/h(2.5-3mph), we have time to see what is happening in front of us and where to place our feet on the path ahead. If we meet other people, we can see them from a distance of 100 meters(110 yards). It takes between 60 and 70 seconds before we actually meet face to face.” ——Jan Gehl . Chapter 2. Senses and Scale, 2.1 Senses and scale” An overlapped grid with 100m and 50m distance has been set accordingly. Every 100 meters, it should be guarenteed that there is a main functional area which is the main attraction and experience space, and every 50 meters, the connections (pedestrian routes) should have a visual difference no matter it is the height or direction, this is to avoid the “tiring length perspective”. 0 3 12 m [ main barriers and valuable area map ] [ grid map ] retainable barriers breakable barriers valuable area Legend: boundaries 50 51 direct connection single curved connection complex curved connection complex curved connection complex curved connection /shortcut /no relationship with leftover space /hairpin curve /have relationship with leftover space /meandering curve /extra attractions /meandering curve /extra attractions /spiral /extra attractions flat ground/ pass straightly/ gentle slope/ detour/ gentle slope/ detour/ deep groove/ detour/ steep slope/ detour/ vertically- become protection vertically- height di�erence horizontally- break throughform the spacecurve hairpin curve: speed: +++ open space meandering curve: speed: ++ semi-open space spiral: speed: + enclosed space After a round of analysis, the design focus has been put on creating a new pedestrian system which will not affect existing traffic roads and add extra values for pedestrians to experience at the same time. The design started with a study between movement and topography. When the ground is flat, the movement is purposeful but also has little relationship with surrounding space; when there is a certain topography, movement becomes twisted and it gives a possibility to create something attractive when there is a turn. Besides topography, acoustic effect also influence movement a lot. Following the current pedestrian path, I did a sound map which contains both positive sound and negative noise. Where there are more negative noise, there should have more protections for pedestrians. Therefore, three types of curved roads have been introduced to realize this protection. Hairpin curves have the most opened shape so it exists in the place where has more positive sound; meandering curves create more semi-open space where they have a certain routine but also form experience space; spiral should be where has most complicated situation and should be a more closed space. NEW PEDESTRIAN ROAD SYSTEM INTERVENTION INTERVENTION [ movement and topography ] [ sound map ] [ road typology ] natural sound human sound wind sound construction noise traffic noise 52 53 9.00 4.00 2.70 3.50 9.00 -1.00 0.60 0.80 -3.30 1.00 1.60 2.00 4.50 -2.20 -1.50 1.00 path through tunnel hairpin curved road: 3,6,12m meandering curved road: 1.5m functional area spiral area pedestrian route negative control: attraction is visible unwilling to take the shortcut follow the path positive control: attraction is invisible halfway attraction lead people to turn around follow the path attraction visible pillars wall/hedge halfway attraction halfway attraction preserved area preserved area attraction invisible pedestrian route There are two main reasons to have different curves as new roads. The first one is to create visual and acoustic protection, and the second one is to gain space for experiencing. Before people can only go straight without a stop, but now they have spaces and opportunities to experience. A new pedestrian road system with a set of roads and in between spaces therefore has been created. Main medium of intervention: Landscape Architecture The width of new roads are designed based on the shortest path, which tells which road is more popular thus need to be wider. There are four different widths: 1.5m, 4m, 6m and 12m. When it comes to landscape architecture, the way how to arrange the relationship between roads and inbetween spaces is the first thing that I thought about. INTERVENTION INTERVENTION [ new road map ] [ path and inbetween space guideline ] [ shortest path ] 54 55 With Hjalmar Brantingsgatan and Frihamnen these two main public transportation station, this area is an excellent space to show all the advantages of the city. The idea is to make it into an open urban 'exhibition' center where showcases the active parts of Frihamnen, Ringön and Backaplan. According to different spatial qualities, the site has been divided into four parts, where different types of programs entwin together and make it into a vivid urban space. public transportation hub/ main entrance social relax social relax core area/exhibition space/main entrance cozy path [ program intervention ] [ program reshuffled ][ road scenario ] [ visual connection & land division ] pedestrian bicyclist public transportation seating sports area exhibition outdoor stairs outdoor lookout higher terrace the art garden trees �owers lawn bushes so ci al tr an sp or ta ti on ve ge ta ti on INTERVENTION INTERVENTION /sink 5-15 cm /sink around 1 m /topographic fluctuation /seat & wall /planting /grass & shrubs /tree as sheld Hjalmar Brantingsgatan Frihamnen 56 57 new road section existing topography new road section existing topography new road section existing topography IMPLEMENTATION IMPLEMENTATION [ overall landscape and architecture plan ] [ views, new section & current topography ] 58 59 [ Landscape 1 - cozy urban public space ] [ Perspective ] [ Interactive Programs ] Walking along the wide pedestrian road lifting above the traffic area, a new world appears in front of you, before it was nothing but an under-construction site, now everything has changed. You can choose to walk along the wide hairpin curved road to reach another destination in a short time, or walk along the cozy meandering path and enjoy the greenery social public space in between. Heavy traffic is not visible anymore because of the visual barriers that new paths and public space formed together. With the rugged greenery space, traffic noise can hardly been heard, instead, here is an outdoor garden for everyone. hairpin road motor way meandering road IMPLEMENTATION IMPLEMENTATION 60 61 IMPLEMENTATION IMPLEMENTATION 62 63 Con t inue walk in g , the space becomes even more interesting, you can still see the cars driving fast on the highway, but beneath there is a wide space where is not disturbed at all from the heavy traffic. Before it was a nice but empty area with nobody would like to stop for a while, but now it gives the opportunity for you to choose which way you want to go. Maybe through the meandering road and get into the greenery space? Or maybe walking along the hairpin road and get to the market zone right in front of you? Or even, maybe you want to take a look at the other side of the area and just take a shortcut from the little bridge? Every choice can lead you to a surprise. [ Landscape 2 - heavy traffic left-over space ] [ Perspective ] [ Interactive Programs ] hairpin road meandering bridge meandering road IMPLEMENTATION IMPLEMENTATION 64 65 IMPLEMENTATION IMPLEMENTATION 66 67 TR AF FI C RO AD S BU FF ER Z O N E main entrance from pedestrian bridge m ai n en tr ai n fro m F rih am ne n inner route to ourdoor amphitheater 1m 1.5m -1.00 +1.00 steps to a lookout stairs for rest in be tw ee n fa st p at h +5.00 +4.50 +4.50 +4.50 +3.00 [ exhibition space top floor plan ] [ exhibition space floor plan ] [ exhibition space section ] After walking across the little bridge, the path will lead you to an exhibition center. Compared to traditional building, the initial proposal to have this building is not for creating a space but to arrange the road network in a complicated area. It is a combination of hairpin road and meandering road, it is a space for experiencing, seating, outlooking and moving. The roof of the building is connected with the main bridge leading to the other side of the site. In another word, it is the movement that formed this building, not the building formed the movement. IMPLEMENTATION IMPLEMENTATION 68 69 PHYSICAL MODEL PHYSICAL MODEL 70 71 SUPSI Campus Design Switzerland ------Kengo Kuma [ A fusion of Infrastructure & Artificial Landscape ] a campus breaks the urban barrier . overcome the expansive railway system . accessibility & movement [ Museum/Gallery/Mixed use ] a city in a box . program interweaving . heavy traffic and human flow Blox Copenhagen,Denmark ------OMA REFERENCES REFERENCES source: https://dac.dk/en/about/dac-in-blox/ source: https://www.archdaily.com/347270/supsi-campus-project-kengo-kuma-and-associates 72 73 [ Landscape Architecture ] Veranda Shanghai, China ------tf Architecture Office integrated with tourism projects via a pedestrian bridge . tourism . agriculture . pedestrian bridge [ Pedestrian Bridge ] Luchtsingel Rotterdam Rotterdam, The Netherlands ------ZUS a unifying factor for a ‘three-dimensional cityscape’ . connect surrounding valuable places . increasing accessibility for pedestrians . color code to remark the bridge REFERENCES REFERENCES source: https://www.gooood.cn/veranda-in-shanghai-china-by-tf-architecture-office.htm source: https://zus.cc/projects/luchtsingel-rotterdam 74 75 [ Public Space Architecture ] Praça de Lisboa Porto, Portugal ------Balonas and Menano Architects an extended mixed-use urban landscape with three layers of program . top level-green roof for urban sapce . middle level-commercial use . ground level-refined parking lot and pedestrian spaces P.E.M Vitré France ------TETRARC Architectes [ Multimodal Interchange Architectural Project ] footbridge above a parking lot . parking lot . pedestrian bridge . observation deck REFERENCES REFERENCES source: https://www.archdaily.com/802818/pem-vitre-tetrarc-architectessource: https://architizer.com/projects/praca-de-lisboa/ 76 77 When I started with my master thesis, I was planned to discuss something about human rights, and how does human rights get improved in the urban agenda. But when I got deeper in this topic, "human rights" seemed too big for me to study with. The idea then was to break this topic into a more general issue that the city is facing with and get it more humble and approachable. To realize this, the first step was to find a specific aspect or stakeholders within this big topic. From these two years living and studying experience in Gothenburg, I decided to go for the most daily but also easily to be ignored phenomenon, which was then focused on the group of pedestrians. This is a very imperative turn in my thesis, suddenly everyting became clearer and tangible. What makes it even more interesting is that, everyone can be a pedestrian in a certain scenario: when you do not own a private car neither want to take a public transportation; when the weather is so good and you just want to go outside and bath in the sun; when it is not that far from your home to the nearest food market and you just want to get a bottle of milk; when you feel upset and staying in an indoor space will just make you feel worse...in countless cases, you have to use your own body to get you outside, and during the process getting from one to another place, you as a pedestrian have to get a connection to the surrounding environment initiatively or passively. In most cases, we as human being always ignore this getting related process, taking destinations as the only aim and forgetting about the scenary along the way. This thesis also gave me the opportunity to be slow and feel every single elements while walking. Compared to other thesis projects in Urban Challenges direction, this thesis started from personal experience and observations, rather than a data collection from interviewing a group of people or organization. However, this personal experience has also been recorded and described in a technical way. Large amounts of sound records and traffic analysis gave the thesis a very strong support. To find a propriate site, I compared several similar transportation hub in Gothenburg, the one that I chose last which locates among Frihamnen, Ringön and Backaplan is a place with a lot of opportunities yet sadly has not been paid attention with at all. During previous study, I had the experience to go to this area for a lot of times, but none of the experience was good. Everytime there were some new problems come out and as a pedestrian, I had no choice but to be strictly careful. After severl sackless self-protection, I realized this safety issue should not be left to pedestrians but urban designers and city government. Since when vehicles come first than pedestrians? The site has been decided with more tricky problems emerged at the same time. Due to the complexity of the site, there are too many components need to be taken care of, and selecting which one should comes more important became a big challenge. Collecting data was the first step to get through all the useful information, after searching through articles, books, internet and professional website, the picture was getting much clearer, and combined with my own interventions, the design has been produced step by step. This is the very first time that I have a research by design methodology through a continuous interative process. It is hard to say if this is already a perfect try but at least the process is really precious to me. Simultaneously, this thesis project gave me the chance to rethink what kind of role do architects and urban designers play during a city's development. In most cases, architects and urban designers care more about worldwide issue and are determined to do big changes. Sometimes, as a group of people who knows best how to observe things neglects the most common daily life. Due to this neglection, unbalanced urban issue are being defaulted as a normal status. This master thesis was produced right from this abnormal phenomenon. CONCLUSION CONCLUSION 78 79 TEXT REFERENCES JEMA, [Online]Available at The city planning administration, 2010. The walkable city, Stockholm city plan Göteborgs Stad, 2014. The city planning administration, 2010. Development strategy Göteborg 2035 Göteborgs Stad. (2014). Gothenburg 2035, Transport strategy for a close-knit city Roggema, R., (2007). Research by design: Proposition for a methodological approach. Basel: Urban Science MDPI. [Online]Available at Rem, K., (1994). Delirious New York, A retroactive manifesto for Manhattan. New York: The Monacelli Press. BLOX, [Online]Available at SUPSI Campus Design, [Online]Available at Veranda in Shanghai, [Online]Available at P.E.M Vitré, [Online]Available at Praça de Lisboa, [Online]Available at Kassahun, T.P., & Luigi, S.D., (2017). Architecture and human rights, a book on urban thinking. Salenstein: Braun Publishing AG. [Online]Available at Pallasma, J., (2009). The Thinking Hand: Existential and Embodied Wisdom in Architecture. New Jersey: John Wiley & Sons, Incorporated. Pallasma, J., (2012). The Eyes of the Skin: Architecture and the Senses. New Jersey: John Wiley & Sons, Incorporated. Lawson, B., (2001). The Language of Space. London: Routledge. Gehl, J., (2010). Cities for People. Washington. DC: Island Press. pp. 42-46 Gros, F., (2015). A Philosophy of Walking. New York: Verso Books. Gothenburg Tram Network, [Online]Available at Solnit, R., (2000). Wanderlust: A History of Walking. New York: Penguin Group. IMAGES REFERENCES All images taken by the author if no reference is given https://www.google.com/maps https://www.tomtom.com/en_gb/traffic-news/ gothenburg-traffic/traffic-flow http://www.goteborg2021.com/jubileumsprojekt/ jubileumsparken/ https://dac.dk/en/about/dac-in-blox/ https://www.archdaily.com/347270/supsi-campus- project-kengo-kuma-and-associates https://www.gooood.cn/veranda-in-shanghai-china- by-tf-architecture-office.htm https://zus.cc/projects/luchtsingel-rotterdam https://architizer.com/projects/praca-de-lisboa/ https://www.archdaily.com/802818/pem-vitre- tetrarc-architectes BIBLIOGRAPHY BIBLIOGRAPHY 80 81 APPENDIX Sketches APPENDIX 82 83 APPENDIX APPENDIX Sketches 84 85 Exhibitions APPENDIX APPENDIX 86 U RBAN STRO LLS / Q IAN Q IAN YU / 2019 SPRIN G /