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Chair of Architecture and Urban Design
Asst. Prof. Dr. Alex Lehnerer
Grand Urban Rules

Design Rules and Design With Rules!

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

Office for urban regulation

Skyline Wall Syndrome

San Francisco

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.

  • CBD San Francisco.

Rule category

Motivation
Aesthetic Regimes: public beauty, visual appearance
The Kind of Rule
Rule that works as reference, ratio, or dependency.
Rule that is NOT related to any preconceived zone or area.
Rule that stipulates an upper limit.
Domain
Rule that regulates building heights.
Rule that has a strong influence on urban density and its distribution.
Rule with direct impact on architectural or urban form.
Scale
General Land Use: Rule that specifies land use in general.
District Related Rule: Rule that relates to a whole city district and its identity.