4/8/2014 Rethinking Urbanism Through Vertical Cities

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Rethinking Urbanism Through Vertical Cities
With the worlds urban population growing at an unprecedented rate, high-rise buildings
will feature prominently in future cities. The concept of the vertical city could be a
solution to the challenge of high-density urbanisation.
More than 75 per cent of the worlds population is expected live in urban areas by 2050. New
residential, commercial and office spaces within major cities will be needed to accommodate millions
of people, leading cities to invest in innovative, integrated and sustainable solutions to cope with the
rapid growth of urbanisation.
In recent years, urban planners and architects around the world have been developing ideas and
creating different solutions to approach the challenge of high-density urbanisation, and the concept
of the vertical city has become a very popular one.
The Mirador building concept, by MVRDV.
The Mirador building in Madrid, Spain, designed by MVRDV and completed in 2005, is but one
example of the many projects based on a vertical city concept. The building is a collection of mini
neighbourhoods stacked vertically around a semi-public sky-plaza that acts as a counterpoint
against the massive uniformity of the surrounding housing blocks.
Now, the concept has been taken a step further. Studying a city like Shanghai, where the land area
is limited, PinkCloud an architecture collective founded in Copenhagen by four international
designers using architecture as a catalyst for social development has embarked on the research
of a new urban identity as a model for the development of future cities.
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4/8/2014 Rethinking Urbanism Through Vertical Cities
http://www.worldarchitecture.org/authors-links/pmhmf/rethinking-urbanism-through-vertical-cities.html 2/5
Aerial v iew of dif f erent FLIP/CITY clusters inserted in Shanghais city scape.
The innovative proposal FLIP/CITY SHANGHAI literally flips the horizontal cityscape onto its side by
taking footprints of the citys existing building types and adopting them as the new facades of the
vertical city. The designers aim was to combine different functions in city-clusters, preserving the
human scale while simultaneously increasing density and green space at the urban scale.
Using the same concept idea as in the Mirador, by expanding Shanghai up along the vertical plane
empty urban spaces can be generated, creating possibilities for new neighbourhoods
and green open areas for the community, meeting the needs of a modern city, its economy, social
structures and sustainable plans for the future.
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4/8/2014 Rethinking Urbanism Through Vertical Cities
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FLIP/CITY concept.
As a reactive healing force, this city could renew weak urban zones in decline by filling voids and
dead space with functioning, thriving neighbourhoods. Most importantly, this new typology would
have the capacity to maximize green space and solve infrastructural issues while creating an
efficient, accessible circulation system for public transit, the designers explained.
While in modern cities skyscrapers and high-rise buildings effectively respond to density issues with
a small footprint, most of them feature a homogeneous function, contributing to the problem of city
centres becoming strictly commercial zones.
FLIP/CITY Detail of long section.
As a result, the proposal combines residential, commercial, educational and cultural functions,
arranged at a human scale that keeps the buildings within walking distance of one another. Empty
sites are occupied with infrastructural installations and urban equipment, creating many public
meeting places and green areas.
This project aims not only to create a new urban identity for Shanghai but also a model for the
worlds future urban developments. Although architects and urban planners argue that vertical living
is more cost efficient and sustainable, it does involve greater energy and material costs.
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4/8/2014 Rethinking Urbanism Through Vertical Cities
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FLIP/CITY View f rom inside a city cluster.
It is important to look at how high-density cities are created in the future and the impact they will
have on the natural environment. Three-dimensional, vertical urbanism has not yet become de
rigeur, but as planners seek solutions to density issues, it provides a strong option going forward.
FLIP/CITY Cross sections of one possible city -cluster.
As occurs in Australian cities, most of the worlds urban centres feature financial hubs, gradually
extending into residential suburban sprawl and creating the need for large transport infrastructure
to connect long distances between office and residential areas. In addition, high-rise buildings tend
to lose the awareness of the human scale, forcing citizens to live and work in increasingly alienating,
polluted and disconnected environments.
The key finding during the study and development of FLIP/CITY model was that by expanding the
city vertically, Shanghais characteristic urban pattern of patchwork typologies can accommodate a
wider range of functions.
> via sourceable.net

Friday, March 07, 2014 reads : 970
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3/9/2014 10:51:03 PM schocken
I thought it was LeCorbusier who taught us that vertical cities in the park dont
4/8/2014 Rethinking Urbanism Through Vertical Cities
http://www.worldarchitecture.org/authors-links/pmhmf/rethinking-urbanism-through-vertical-cities.html 5/5
work!How stupid can one get?
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