Shaping Cities
What are the most influential things that have shaped the way whole cities have been designed?
Doors come to mind. Specificaly the standardization of door sizes. Sure there is some variability, but they remain within the realm of 2'6" to 5' wide and about 7' tall.
How about windows? The development of glass windows is perhaps one of the most important advances in the way buildings are created. Suddenly buildings could be wider/deeper because light could be allowed in through openings in the wall that were still weather tight. This meant that openings could be bigger (as big as the glass allows).
The car. 50% of American cities are dedicated to the car in the form of roads and parking. Yet how many of us really think about the invasion of roads into our cities? One of the first things that Americans seem to say about European cities is that the roads are so narrow... how can anyone drive through them?
Doors come to mind. Specificaly the standardization of door sizes. Sure there is some variability, but they remain within the realm of 2'6" to 5' wide and about 7' tall.
How about windows? The development of glass windows is perhaps one of the most important advances in the way buildings are created. Suddenly buildings could be wider/deeper because light could be allowed in through openings in the wall that were still weather tight. This meant that openings could be bigger (as big as the glass allows).
The car. 50% of American cities are dedicated to the car in the form of roads and parking. Yet how many of us really think about the invasion of roads into our cities? One of the first things that Americans seem to say about European cities is that the roads are so narrow... how can anyone drive through them?
posted by Heather at 5:09 PM
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