Donovan Gillman January 2011

So how can we improve the City Experience?

Urban Sustainability Edgar Pieterse of the African Centre for Cities differentiates five kinds of sustainability from Argentinean scholar Adriana Allen: Economic sustainability, Social sustainability, Ecological sustainability Physical sustainability, Political sustainability (Pieterse 2010)

Thinking Work: Experience (Theory into Strategy) “A holon (Greek: ὅλον, holon neuter form of ὅλος, holos "whole") is something that is simultaneously a whole and a part. The concept of the holon is used in environmental philosophy, ecology and human ecology. Ecosystems are often seen as holons within one or many holarchies. Holons are seen as open subsystems of systems of higher order, with a continuum from the cell to the ecosphere.” (Holon, Wikipedia 2010)

INTEGRAL DESIGN PRINCIPLES Cities are for people and are made by people -people matter more than things Configuration of both the natural and the built environment is key to the improving of the performance of the city An integral approach takes into account more layers of constraints and opportunities providing an opportunity for greater complexity Increases the likelihood that others will adopt the environment as their own and make it into a ‘place’ they value and want to inhabit.

EXITING USER EXPERIENCE – WOW (World of Wonder) - in any physical space (leisure, retail, urban or landscape environment.) ENHANCED VALUE to all stakeholders by: Sustainable Systems – Integral Ecological; Social, Cultural & Economic balance User Attraction Improved customer segregation & targeting Increased footfall due to attraction, configuration & integration Improved habitability leads to greater customer satisfaction Greater safety and security due to co-presence and interaction Improved visit duration & higher spend Increased loyalty, return visits & word of mouth referrals Asset Enhancement Tenant demand; due to high footfall and improved buying patterns leads to increased demand for space and therefore increased rents. Mixed use with user segmentation, leads to improved spatial utilisation and performance Lower media (advertising), security and management costs OUPUTS: Integral analysis and design tools used with targeted research can: Expose hidden opportunities in new and existing environments and generate improved ideas to take advantage of them quickly Allow modelling and testing of design concepts, formal plans, and management policies before implementation reducing design times and expenses, minimizing costly mistakes and generally improving the chances of successful development outcomes. Provide clear graphic representations and an understandable language to communicate environmental & spatial information to all parties (stakeholders, authorities, consultants and publics) Create unique, integrated and habitable places that will enhance the experience and desirability of any leisure, retail, urban or landscape environment. Allow comparative performance measurement and evaluation against global benchmarks; allows value enhancement to be understood by international stakeholders, as these measures become accepted and demanded e.g. CO2 footprint, IFC Performance Standards Urban Choreography’s advanced Integral Design Methods create enhanced environments and results in improved ROI

Depthmap Space Syntax software from University College of London (UCL Bartlett) to model, analyse and predict spatial relationships and configurations of buildings, local areas and entire urban & city regions. This software tool is based on over 30 years of research and development at UCL and subsequently at many other institutions and private practices around the world. Habitability Index Measurement System from the Barcelona Urban Ecology Unit enables an internationally recognised assessment of key indicators of human comfort, which can readily be translated into design guidelines for specific environments and these in turn, can be measured and contribute to further enhancement over time. Ecological Footprint is a combined measure of an environments CO2; Energy; Hydrological (water); Waste usage related to the area it occupies. Tools for assessing this measure have been developed using the work of Ecologist Barry Gasson at UCT as well as the American Society of Landscape Architects (ASLA) Sustainable Sites Program which is an extension of the LEED Building Efficiency rating system and the local Green Star program which focuses more on buildings at this stage. IDEO Human Centred Design Kit is a participative design toolkit developed by IDEO, one of the foremost design practices, for the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation to facilitate participative design and stakeholder buy-in . While this was designed for the involvement in design process in poverty stricken areas, the tool kit was developed from over 25 years of IDEO’s in-house design collaboration process, and is with some adaptation, easily applicable to urban and retail participation and user involvement. Application and development through research and application of advanced evidence based analysis and design tools:

INTEGRAL DESIGN METHOD

Evaluation Criteria “I” Field of Experience: Personal Experience – Individual Culturally Based Values Habitability Index: Barcelona Urban Ecology Agency The objective of this index is to establish the necessary indicators to evaluate each of these effects according to the answer in a human scale. The results will vary according to the characteristics of the streets regarding design and location. “

Field Conditions: Habitability Index Map

SPACE SYNTAX CONCEPTS People move in lines Interact in convex spaces See changing visual fields as they move Space Syntax “WE” Field of Cultures: Socio-Cultural Effects

A way to research site and context in order to establish existing dynamics A means of understanding movement patterns at the design stage A theory that is able to incorporate the ‘city-creating’ process into design Ability to test the potential success or highlight potential problems and identify opportunities at the design stage A way of working across scales from local to global with the same set of tools A way of integrating data into a common functionally intelligent model for the city (Hillier 2006) Space Syntax

Field Conditions: Sub-Metropolitan Space Syntax Axial Integration

“IT” Field of Behaviors: Scientific & Ecological Effects ‘Behavior Indicator:’ Ecological (Water) Footprint ASLA Sustainable Sites Rating System

Field Conditions: Spatial Distribution of Global to Local Land Use

: Primary Informants from Context Analysis Integral Concept:

Field Conditions: Social Conditions: How do the people feel?

Field Conditions: Responses to Composite Constraints & Opportunities

Field Works: Urban Interventions Conceptual Diagrams

Field Works: Urban Interventions Concept Plan

Field Works: Urban Interventions Integrated Water Systems

Field Works: Urban Interventions Integrated Water Systems

Field Works: Urban Interventions Integrated Water Systems

Field Works: Urban Interventions Urban Multi Modal Interchange

Field Works: Urban Interventions Urban Multi Modal Interchange