Cities as cultural products are neither ‘built’ nor ‘planned,’ at best they are guided and steered in a certain direction. Therefore, rules and regulations are one of the few tools that are actually suitable to guide future development within such collective and complex urban settings.
We strongly believe that the field of (urban) design should not simply adhere to these standards as some neutrally existing context but should actively engage in discussing them in order to make them subject to design as well. read more
High-rises built around the same time and motivated by speculation tend to be similar in appearance and size. When they stand alongside one another, the effect is of a homogenous wall of buildings. It is a task of the planning authorities to adopt appropriate measures designed to counteract this tendency.