The City and The City

The City and The City
A Study of Urban Topology
2014 John K Branner Research Fellowship

Rudy Letsche
2014 University of California Berkeley

College of Environmental Design
Department of Architecture
John K Branner Travel Research Fellowship
The City and The City

A Study of Urban Topology
2014 John K Branner Research Fellowship

Rudy Letsche
acknowledgements
special thanks to the branner family for the incredible opportunity to travel and research this
topic for a year, and to christina huang for helping to coordinate the logistics of funding, leave,
etc. thanks to nicholas de monchaux, who furnished me with several local contacts and sources
on ideal cities and other topics on urbanism. thanks as well to kyle steinfeld, who helped get me
a foothold in these topics.
in addition to the one hundred plus new people i met on these travels, i benefited greatly from
some key individuals. in barcelona journalist jerry lazar helped me as i tweaked methodology
in the first few weeks, and the office of arriola and fiol gave me a warm welcome. in fez i was
shown wonderful arabic hospitality from saida benfous and family, mohammed ezzymoussi
and the dar rbab staff. in casablanca reda channane took great care of me and made sure I saw
more of the city than i would have on my own. in rabat driss benabdallah and his family did
the same. thanks to the university toulouse school of architecture for showing me around le
miraile quartier, and to jean-henri fabre for sharing archival documents from the construction
of the school. in jakarta bahrul wijaksana gave me a lot to think about from one short meeting.
in singapore jenn celesia was my rock, while michael weiner of gensler, stefano schiavon of uc
berkeley, and andres sevtsuk of city form lab gave me some great insights. in cusco, my time
was made special and productive thanks to jean-pierre protzen, german benavente, and julio
rojas-bravo. and a special thank you to eduardo for shuttling me to the clinic when we thought
I was going to die (we were mistaken). last but not least, thanks to fannie cheung for her loving
support and abundant patience.
vi
contents

abstract
literary references
viii
x
I.
proposal & methodology
11
II.
mediterranean region
16
III.
equatorial region
176
IV.
latin american region
210
V. compendium
compressions
traces
installation
244
246
248
250
bibliography
254
vii
abstract
it is impossible to simultaneously design an entity of complexity such as a city, because
architectural space is created by three influences: the designers, the users, and time.
if the goal for our cities is to elegantly accommodate more residents, use resources more wisely,
and brace against changing climate patterns, then it is crucial to understand the mechanisms at
work. what in the city can be ordered and optimized, and what could be left to evolve naturally?
where is the line between the ideal and the authentic? how does that line move with physical and
cultural latitude?
while building codes guide development to some extent, they do not effectively guide collective
building form. form-based codes assure density with a particular massing, but are often too
restrictive and prohibit the natural evolution of the city.
architects must look to the space that is created by built forms - both inside and out - to
understand how that space accommodates flows operating in larger networks or patterns. what
bigger story are these mechanisms telling us, and how do we find them? some mechanisms
like the grid are fairly obvious, but others are most evident in urban topology - where systems
overlap or break. urban topology is where the city is changing or has the potential to change.
viii
by teasing the composed city from the emerged city, or vice versa, we can begin to map what
was intended against what actually is there, and trace these differentials back to the flows they
accommodate - people, energy, water, and capital. understanding urban topology is key to
designing urban resilience.
therefore, a study of urban potential lies somewhere between the composed city and the
emerged city - between the city and the city.
throughout this study i investigate how architecture engages the urban, how the urban engages
the landscape, and how technology and data are being engaged to represent, create and enhance
the built environment.
ix
the city & the city

two cities actually occupy much of the same geographical space, but via the volition of their
citizens (and the threat of the secret power known as breach) they are perceived as two different
cities.
a denizen of one city must dutifully unsee (that is, consciously erase from their mind or fade
into the background) the denizens, buildings, and events taking place in the other city even
if they are an inch away. this separation is emphasized by the style of clothing, architecture, gait,
and the way denizens of each city generally carry themselves. residents of the cities are taught
from childhood to recognize things belonging to the other city without actually seeing them.
ignoring the separation, even by accident, is called breaching - a terrible crime by the citizens
of the two cities, even worse than murder.
the twin cities are composed of crosshatched, alter, and total areas. total areas are entirely in
one city, the city in which the observer currently resides. alter areas are completely
in the other city, and so must be completely avoided and ignored. between these are areas
of crosshatch. these might be streets, parks or squares where denizens of both cities walk
alongside one another, albeit unseen.
copula hall exists in both cities under the same name. rather than crosshatch, it essentially
functions as a border. it is the only way in which one can legally and officially pass from
one city to another. passing through the border passage takes travellers, geographically (or
grosstopically), to the exact place from which they started - only now in the other city.1
mielville, china. the city & the city.
invisible city: eudoxia

in eudoxia, which spreads both upward and down, with winding alleys, steps, dead ends,
hovels, a carpet is preserved in which you can observe the citys true form.
at first sight nothing seems to resemble eudoxia less than the design of that carpet, laid out
in symmetrical motifs whose patterns are repeated along straight and circular lines, interwoven
with brilliantly colored spires, in a repetition that can be followed throughout the whole woof.
but if you pause and examine it carefully, you become convinced that each place in the carpet
corresponds to a place in the city and all the things contained in the city are included in the
design, arranged according to their true relationship, which escapes your eye distracted by the
bustle, the throngs, the shoving.
all of eudoxias confusion, the mules braying, the lampblack stains, the fish smell is what is
evident in the incomplete perspective you grasp; but the carpet proves that there is a point from
which the city shows its true proportions, the geometrical scheme implicit in its every, tiniest
detail. it is easy to get lost in eudoxia: but when you concentrate and stare at the carpet, you
recognize the street you were seeking in crimson or indigo or magenta thread which, in a wide
loop, brings you to the purple enclosure that is your real destination.
every inhabitant of eudoxia compares the carpets immobile order with his own image of the
city, an anguish of his own, and each can find, concealed among the arabesques, an answer, the
story of his life, the twists of fate. an oracle said that one of the two objects has the form the
gods gave the starry sky and the orbits in which the worlds revolve; the other is an approximate
reflection, like every human creation.
is the true map the carpet, or the city of eudoxia, just as it is, a stain that spreads out
shapelessly, with crooked streets, houses that crumble one upon the other amid clouds of dust,
fires, screams in the darkness.1
1
calvino, italo. invisible cities.
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proposal
the difference between the emerged city (dense, traditional, low-rise and sometimes
unnavigable) and the composed city (ordered, legible, sometimes sterile) is rich with
architectural possibilities. through comparative studies of actual and ideal urban form at similar
physical and cultural latitudes, i propose a hybrid form of urbanism that intelligently combines
the idealized world of energy flows, circulation and infrastructure, and the real, living tissue of
the city. in an era of sweeping, informal urbanization, diminishing resources, and environmental
instability, i believe the answer lies not in the city as it is, or in the city as we might like to to be,
but in the fruitful co-existence and cross-fertilization of the two - the city and the city.
12
the city emerged

the emerged city exhibits an urban texture that was created over a long
period of time carrying embedded knowledge. these parts benefit from
the patina of time - some boast a reclaimed or reused infrastructure
that creates a space that is nearly impossible to create in a single,
simultaneous design. informal activities and networks are part of this
realm.
the city composed

the composed city exhibits symmetry or optimized geometry derived
from performative requirements like traffic flow, defense, or finance.
the modern era brought forth a new urban texture with larger, taller
buildings standing alone, like pavilions in ever larger swaths of open
land. the walking city gave way to the driving city.
the city intersected

where do the emerged city and the composed city coexist? where is one
informing the other? where do informal networks and flows infiltrate
ideal urban fabric? where is order amid a seemingly chaotic, formless
city? where is disorder amid a seemingly ordered city?
13
research questions
topology in terms of design, usage, and time
what is the culture of space in a given city?

: : variation between districts or neighborhoods?

: : mechanisms that carve and hold space?

: : measure for continuity | public-private | individual-collective-corporate

: : architectural typologies created?

: : courtyards | passages | enclaves | slums
what is the underlying structure or nature of the city?

: : original settlement, axis, topography, hydrology

how is the urban fabric changed?

: : squeezed | stretched | ruptured | ripped | torn
14
research themes
formal & informal

: : formal in informal | informal in formal

: : formal to informal | informal to formal

: : networks: physical | visual | aural

light & shadow

: : direct light | reflected light | blocked light
total & alter

: : exculsive realms

: : scale | proportion | material | texture
crosshatch & breach

: : inclusive realms

: : scale | proportion | material | texture
15
mediterranean
[jan - may]
spain
: : barcelona
italy
: : rome
: : naples
: : florence
: : san giovanni valdarno
: : venice
: : palmanova
morocco
: : fes
: : casablanca
: : marrakesh
: : tetouan
: : rabat
france
: : marseille
: : toulouse
: : lyon
: : paris
tetouan
rabat
casablanca
fes
marrakesh
16
paris
lyon
palmanova
venice
toulouse
marseille
florence
barcelona
san giovanni valdarno
rome
naples
17
spain : : barcelona
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19
barcelona, spain
barcelona is a city with a few highly distinct districts,
offering plenty in the way of urban coexistence and
breach.
: : eixample is barcelonas modern extension.
: : ciutat vella is barcelonas old town.
: : barcino is the original roman settlement.
20
21
the eixample
eixample means extension in the catalan language.
it was a very large urban project that connected
several small towns by developing the plain between
them with an autonomous system of isomorphic
city blocks.
22
23
the city composed

a system of chamfered blocks with courtyards
oriented to 45 deg optimizes exposure to daylight.
24
25
the city composed

every apartment in the entire district will experience
this kind of light at some period of the day.
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27
the city emerged

each block was designed to have a communal
courtyard, but the courtyards were gradually filled in
as the city developed...
...with buildings that required larger footprints (like
this skylit grocery store below).
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29
the city emerged

these days, the city is actively clearing the courtyards
to restore them to their original intention - green
space.
several of these are publicly accessible, creating
a network of courtyard parks to escape from the
noise of the street, walk the dog, read a book, or
play on the monkey bars.
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31
ciutat vella
ciutat vella means old city in the catalan language.
ciutat vella grew in stages - here we see evidence of
the city walls, moved outwards two times. the walls
prohibited the city from spreading out, resulting in a
hyper-densification. when density became too great,
the walls were torn down and a new one built.
the heavy red lines indicate avenues that were
carved out of the dense urban fabric toward the
end of the 19th century.
32
33
the city emerged

ciutat vella was not designed to optimize exposure
to daylight, but there are some surprisingly well lit
spaces.
reflected light is effective here due to the dense,
low-rise fabric and the color of the exterior walls.
34
35
the city emerged

the effect is more powerful when the buildings pull
back slightly to create a small square.
36
37

on the topic of squares, consider this one near a
transition of the two fabrics (eixample + ciutat
vella).
activated by many different itineraries, the space
is set up with a break in the dense urban fabric by
richard meiers museum of contemporary art.
38
39

skateboarders, tourists, toddlers, strollers, and cafe
loungers in a harmonious urban coexistence.
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41
the city composed

barcino is the original roman settlement, over 2000
years old.
image: joan busquets, 2005.
42
43
the city composed

the informal activity of roman armies setting up
camp became more formal over time, and the layout
concepts would become the basis for permanent
town settlements throughout the roman empire.
characterized by two major cross streets, the
decumanus maximus (east/west axis) and the cardo
maximus (north/south axis).
the cardo-decumanus is a major intersection,
where one would find the forum (town square)
surrounded by the towns most important buildings,
like courts and temples.
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45
the city emerged

barcino illustrates two simple behavioral
phenomena that help shape cities:
: : the shortest distance between two points is a
straight line.
: : sustained informal activities will acquire an
architecture over time.
those shortcuts that have altered barcino from a
grid of roman superblocks to a maze of winding
medieval alleyways
46
47

the original roman forum temple had been used
by medieval builders as structure for their own
buildings.
until the 1990s, some lucky people had these
enormous capitals in their living rooms!
those apartments have been removed and the
columns now enjoy a bit of air in their own hidden
courtyard.
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49

parts of barcinos wall remain.
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54
55
compressions
ciutat vella: ferran-princessa axis
56
eixample: gran via
57
transverse itineraries
one urban itinerary:
i mapped all of my own walks, runs, and rides in the
city. they are shown here, colored according to the
historical phase of the city.
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59
italy : : rome
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the city composed

rome is perhaps the most layered occidental city.
: : the ancient city is marked by ruins unearthed at
every major construction project.
: : in baroque times a pilgrimage network was made
manifest by pope sixtus
: : in modern times, mousselini attempted a new
city to the south as a catalyst to future growth
southward.
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63

baroque rome provides an example of both city
design (top down) and urban ordering (bottom up)
approaches.
the classical city emerged from local rulesets, while
in the 1600s, pope sixtus gave form to the christian
pilgrimage between the seven votive churches by
carving straight streets out of the dense urban
fabric.
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65
the city composed

tension was a baroque spatial innovation using long,
straight streets with a focal object on axis, drawing
the eye up and out.
the catch here is that the tension network was acting
on an emergent order, too - that of pilgrims moving
between the votive churches.
sixtus merely reinforced what was already occurring
by widening, possibly straightening the streets, and
putting focal points at each church - the obelisks.
ow one can walk through the streets of Rome and
overhear tourists saying things like, Its all about
the obelisks.
66
67
the city composed

piazza del popolo hosts three radials of the
pilgrimage network. this symmetry is further
expressed by two self-similar churches at the ends
of the blocks.
68
69
the city composed

a line extending between the obelisks in front of
romes two most important churches (san giovanni
in laterno to st. peters) passes directly through the
campidoglio, designed by michelangelo.
70
71
the city composed

to the south of romes center lies EUR.
it was supposed to be the catalyst for romes future
growth to the south of the city.
today it remains a satellite of the city and serves as a
business center akin to la defense in paris.
72
73
the city composed

EUR (Esposizione Universale Roma) was built in
the 1930s under Mussolini, in the Italian rationalist
style.
a pared down revival of classical architecture, fascist
in that the planning is rectilinear and axial as was
classical roman town planning, but scaled for the
automobile.
though EUR never became a city, (it is a corporate
office park with a residential component), EUR
does provide a glimpse of what european cities
might have looked and felt like if the other side had
won world war two.
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the city composed

EUR is architecturally ordered in plan, but at street
level it is disordered and sometimes unnavigable.
cars clutter the streets. sidewalks end suddenly in a
sea of cars, and the pedestrian is left to find his own
way through.
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italy : : florence
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the city composed

like barcino, florences center was originally a roman
settlement. unlike barcino, florences center has
maintained the roman grid in large part, mainly
thanks to a building type - the palazzo.
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83
the city composed

florences center boasts an intact roman cardodecumanus with forum-cum-square.
half florences town center maintains a superblock
grid thanks to the palazzo building type.
in italy, the palazzo is a building with courtyards,
generous proportions and symmetry.
84
85
86
87
88
89
the city composed

several florentine new towns were built from scratch
in the late 13th century as florence rolled out a
strategy to organize its countryside.
firenzuola
castelfranco
terranuova
90
firenzuola
scarperia
florence
castelfranco
terranuova
91
the city composed

the new towns were inspired by florences center,
gridded as it was from the roman settlement. The
central square was instrumental in bringing a group
of disparate, uneducated country-folk together to
become urbane over time.
some of the people from these towns went on to
become influential citizens of florence.
castelfranco
comparison of town squares

92
firenzuola
terranuova
93
italy :: san giovanni valdarno
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95
the city composed

the towns were modeled after the gridded center of
florence, but exhibit even more design thought in
their relational geometry.
96
97
the city composed

despite medieval origins, these towns mark the
beginning of a renaissance of ideal town planning
through relational geometries and proportions.
98
99
the city composed

the loggia of the church comes to the mid-point of
the cross street.
the geometry is reinforced in the paving design.
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the city emerged

when i arrived sunday afternoon, the town was
desolate. i thought i made a huge mistake coming
here. by 5pm the town was buzzing with activity.
the main street and the town square still serve as the
gathering space for the town.
this convention is due only to the schedule adhered
to culturally - the sunday afternoon italian family
dinner.
after sunday dinner, 5pm.
during sunday dinner, 3pm.
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italy : : palmanova
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107
the city composed

palmanova in northeast italy was built in 1593
to defend the eastern borders of the republic of
venice from turkish invasion and austrian pressures.
the choice of a nine-pointed star-like plan unites the
influences of the renaissance cultural debate and the
most advanced solutions of military engineering at
the time.
108
109
the city composed

square parks were planned at all radials at the
second web, but either only a few were executed.
sforzinda, filaretes ideal city of the late renaissance
110
111
the city composed

the large central square was designed to host
military assemblies. today, without its original
function, the space feels vacant and oversized.
112
113
the city emerged

the regular geometry of the street layout results in
particular building form-types at various corners.
114
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designed for 20,000 inhabitants, the maximum
was only ever 10,000 people. 5,000 of those were
military.
the abandoned barracks take up a lot of area, and
have not yet been adapted to new use.
still closed to civilians, only after seeing this trace
did i realize the barracks made up a large swathe of
the city on which i never stepped foot.
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morocco : : fes
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fes, morocco
: : 789 AD - fes el-bali (medina)
: : 1276 AD - fes el-jdid (extension)
: : 1916 AD - ville-nouvelle (new city)
fes was the capital of morocco until 1925. fes elbali, the original city, is one of the worlds largest
car-free urban areas. this is the area where i focused
my study.
fes was a wealthy and noble place, steeped in a high
culture of religion, philosophy, and education. fes
has been called the mecca of the west and the
athens of africa.
fassis, the name for people from fes, carry a
reputation for shrewd business acumen and high
culture. they are found all over morocco now,
especially in casablanca, and also in france.
120
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fes el-bali (medina)

: : 789 AD - fes el-bali (medina)
: : 859 AD - al qarawiyyin mosque
the al-qarawiyyin mosque-religious college was
founded by fatima al-fihri in 859 with an associated
school (madrasa), which subsequently became one
of the leading spiritual and educational centers of
the historic Muslim world. It is the oldest existing,
continually operating and the first degree awarding
educational institution in the world according to
UNESCO, and is sometimes referred to as the
oldest university.
al-qarawiyyin itself is named after the qairaouan
mosque in tunisia, the oldest mosque in the
maghreb and the cradle of the muslim maliki rite.
notes (field):
fes medina is labyrinthine and intense. the call to
prayer here is haunting and arresting - the whole
medina from hill to valley fills with a ghostlyl but
commanding, cacaphonous wail. ive been offered
hash, beer, and massage about 100 times in three
days. i cannot take a walk without attracting a
guide that would even follow me home, some
helping me through the maze, some seemingly
trying to get me more lost and confused in order
to pick my pockets. there are usually enough eyes
on the street to spot this and call it out. the scams
seem infinite, but so far amusing.
122
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the city emerged

the al-qarawiyyin mosque-religious college is the
epicenter of the city. surrounding the mosque itself
are various madrasas (religions schools and colleges)
that are associated with the mosque.
the next ring is made up of souks (open markets).
the next ring is made up of industrial uses factories, crafts, and the like, the heaviest of which
are situated along the river.
outside this ring are residential buildings, almost all
of which are the riad typology.
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125
the city emerged

outside the gates of the medina one finds
informal markets. these markets represent the
very phenomenon that began the islamic cities commercial activity set up in tents somewhere in
the desert. given a road, these activities would grow
the city organically outward along the road.
this is exactly how fes grew from its beginning
mosque-university complex and surrounding
commerce, industry and residence, along the talaa
kbira, acquiring architecture over time.
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127
the city emerged

there is a definite fractal nature to the streets of
fes, of which there are over nine thousand! no
gates separate the public and private realms, but
as the streets narrow, one feels there is some kind
of threshold beyond which it is no longer open to
non-residents.
as i approached these thresholds, locals would
invariably tell me no, this way the medina is
closed and instruct me to turn around.
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129
the city emerged

extending from the main mosque, the attarine spice
market lines the main street, talaa kbira. by day it
is highly activated with all manner of townfolk. by
night it is a lonely, harrowing place.
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131
the city emerged

talaa kbira is a mixing realm, through which everyone
in the medina at some point passes.
a dynamic street with open/closed conditions,
different times yield different spatial expreriences.
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133
the city emerged

fes streets take one through light and shadow, in a
harrowing path to some unknown place.
some of these dark passages end in pleasant surprises.
134
135
the city emerged

derbs are dead-end alleyways, unless you are this
man, who seems to have a key.
derbs narrow to a degree that indicates a threshold,
beyond which is a more private realm.
136
137
the city emerged

as one follows the streets, some spaces emerge that
are semi-public
and other spaces emerge that are semi-private.
138
139
the city emerged

the riad is the most prevalent building type in
the islamic city. it is a private realm with rooms
organized about an open courtyard, and a roof
deck.
as the family grew, more bates (rooms) were built.
this is how the city aggregated.
these interior realms are very private, with no
exterior view windows, and the entrance jogs to
prevent a visual connection from the street.
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the city emerged

in islamic culture, the cafe is the mans social, nonreligious realm.
the rooftop is the womans private realm.
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my paths over a two week period. a great amount
of reporting from the upper left, where i lived, but
the talaa kbira showing how important a street it is,
leading to the mosque.
146
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france : : marseille
148
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marseille, france
marseille offers a glimpse into the past and wouldbe future. in the center of town, the proportions are
human scale. in le corbusiers unite dhabitation the
scale is also human, but the urban surroundings are
decidedly not.
150
151
the city composed

in the ville radieuse, the scale is for automobiles. the
human scale does not enter the picture until one
comes into the building.
152
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155
the city composed

inside the unite dhabitation, the childrens rooms
and the hotel rooms are proportioned according
to one modulor. i found the rooms to be quite
comfortable, though the ceiling really need not be
this low. adhering exactly to the ideal geometry is
not necessary.
156
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158
159
compressions
ville radieuse, a city scaled with machines at the center
160
quai du port, a city scaled with man at the center
161
france : : lyon
162
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lyon, france
lyon is an ancient city that started on the banks of
the rhone river. it grew eastward, away from the hill,
eventually occupying the confluence of two rivers.
the areas of study were early-mid 20th century
social housing solutions put forth by tony garnier
and morice leroux.
164
165
the city composed

the quartier etats-unis was a realized version of the
residential part of tony garniers cite industrielle.
being so remote from lyons center, it is a relatively
quiet, unpopulated part of town. therefore the
streets do not have a lot of life.
the layout is symmetrical due to the economy of the
project. the public and private realms are separated
by an open, linear courtyard. instead of a gate, there
is a typical pergola that creates a threshold.
166
167
the city emerged

the original design was four stories, which the
government increased to six. in this picture one sees
the original niche dimensions, designed to bring
daylight deeper into the living spaces.
since the original had no elevators in the design,
they have been retrofitted. this eats up a good deal
of niche space that was meant for daylight.
168
169
the city composed

a typical pergola serves as threshold between public
and semi-private space.
as a non-resident i felt like a trespasser when i
walked through the semi-private linear courtyards.
170
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175
equator
[jun - aug]
singapore
: : singapore
indonesia
: : jakarta
176
singapore
jakarta
177
singapore : : singapore
[sin] singapore
178
179

singapores urban structure is fractal - the local
neighborhoods with architecture and culture
characteristic to southeast asia are like beads on a
necklace of a global infrastructure.
from a distance it looks like a mix, but in reality
the city is made up of very individual pockets, with
almost a monoculture of ethnicities as denizens of
their respective neighborhood.
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the city emerged

little india
a much more local story over here
marina bay
top of the world - financially and spatially
182
183
the city emerged

the outdoor culture of the global and the local
184
185

the scale differential between singapores downtown
financial district and the neighboring shophouses on
boathouse row is extreme.
some shophouses have lost their claim to a scalar
mismatch with traffic arteries. this kind of scale
juxtaposition kills street life.
186
187
the city emerged

the sunday gathering of the filipina maids on
singapores main retail thoroughfare, orchard street.
little indias population on the street far exceeds the
capacity of the traditional five foot way.
188
189
self-trace showing the historic-cultural areas visited
in color.
190
191
indonesia : : jakarta
192
193
jakarta, indonesia
jakarta is a very large city. i spent all my time in the
center, though even the center is absolutely huge.
it is not a city in which one can get around easily. i
focused on two areas - bendungan hilr to the south,
and batavia in north jakarta.
194
195

jakarta has a trans-city bus line with its own
dedicated lane, which i use everyday and thank
allah it exists. otherwise, there is no getting around
efficiently without a scooter.
sadly, some developers are purposely choking the
kampongs (local lane neighborhoods), in an effort
to strangle the life out of them, and force the
locals to sell their land. this has happened along the
main roads, and the replacement product is glassskinned office/residential towers on campus tissue,
walled and gated to the surroundings, accessed by
automobile.
in my experience, the kampungs offer all of the
redeeming qualities for this city. they are fun, easily
walkable, with local food options, and the people
are just lovely.
196
197

local jakarta
the wet markets are where to find kampong locals
doing their shopping
global jakarta
malls are a major part of the culture
198
199

global jakarta
water is managed carefully in the rich
neighborhoods ...
local jakarta
... and not so well in the poor neighborhoods
200
201

local jakarta
informal food and services sets up shop outside the
walls and gates of...
global jakarta
gated walls of complexes - offices and residences
202
203
204
205
206
207
jakarta is an enormous city. areas of focus were
bendungen hilir to the south and batavia to the
north.
208
209
latin america
[sep - dec]
peru
: : cusco
: : lima
210
lima
cusco
211
peru : : cusco
cusco, peru
cusco was the capital of the incan empire in the
andean region of south america. it lies in present
day peru, and is mainly a tourist attraction at the
center, but outside the center is where the locals
live.
214
215
cusco, peru
the incan city took the shape of a puma (one of the
three most sacred animals in incan culture).
the historical center lies mainly inside this area,
with the head of the puma a very sacred site,
sachsaywaman, which was the equivalent of a
citadel in incan times.
the puma shape comes from topography. there is
a river flowing from the front paws toward the
tail, another along the back. these rivers now run
underneath the city.
the heavily touristed historical center lies inside
the region shaped like a puma. the locals of cusco
reside outside this area.
216
217
the city composed

to understand what cusco used to look like, one
must travel to machu picchu and ollantaytambo.
upon seeing these wondrous places, you must then
imagine - cusco was even better.1
cusco means naval of the earth in the inkan
language. it was the capital of the inkan empire in
the andean region of south america.
at the naval of the puma (effectively the naval of
the naval, as central as one could be in the inkan
universe) was the inti wasi, or temple of the sun.
from the heart of the temple extend seqe - datum
lines distributed among the four provinces of the
empire and along which sacred sites (wakas) were
built.
i attempted to delineate the composed, native city
from the imposed, spanish city and the modern city
from the historic city.
218
rojo-bravas, julio. personal interview, sep 5, 2014.
219

the most sacred site in cusco, the inti wasi,
or temple of the sun, which later became the
qoricancha, or palace of gold, now is the site of the
santa domingo church.
the churchs nave is directly atop the most sacred
part of the most sacred site of the incan empire from this point all the seqe extend throughout the
empire, aligning numerous other sacred sites, miles
away.
220
221

spanish arches meet incan walls
222
223

arches of the santa domingo church were build
right off an incan temple wall.
the cloister of santa domingo is built atop the most
sacred site in cusco.
224
225

terraces like these used to cover the hillsides of
cusco.
the terrace walls are still intact in some places,
though later building has engulfed them or used
them as structure.
226
227

right: a preserved incan street, now culminating
in the plaza mayor, surrounded by european-style
churches.
below: an incan doorway and an incan path
culminating in a spanish-style courtyard.
228
229

some incan roads were closed by the spanish as they
redesigned some of the city to their own liking.
some incan roads still exist inside preserved
courtyards. they are inaccessible to the public.
230
231

some incan walls were covered by the spanish as
they redesigned some of the city to their own liking.
some incan walls still exist behind spanish ones.
232
233
the city emerged

despite the original city and its partial uncoverings,
the real cusco of the present day is located outside
the heavily touristed historic center.
one must ironically head outside the original city
gates to encounter the real cusco. on this side,
goods are marketed for cusquenos, and sold to
cuscquenos.
234
235
236
237
238
239
compressions
loreto: an incan street
240
pumacurco: a spanish street
241
i mapped all of my own walks and rides in the
242
243
244
Compendium
245
traces : : transverse itineraries

as i traveled i used gps to trace my paths through each city. i did this for all modes of
movement - car, train, biking, running, walking.
here those maps are printed at the same scale. it becomes evident those cities that
require more automated transport due to their extents, and those that are very
walkable, due to their density. it is counter-intuitive that singapore, one of the
densest cities in the world, would be the most extensive mapping.
246
mediterranean :: spain :: barcelona
mediterranean :: italy :: rome
mediterranean :: italy :: naples
mediterranean :: italy :: florence
mediterranean :: italy :: palmanova
mediterranean :: morocco :: casablanca
mediterranean :: morocco :: fez
equator :: singapore :: singapore
equator :: indonesia :: jakarta
latin america :: peru :: cusco

247
compressions
compressing time and space
these images were taken every thirty paces with a 35mm focal length at the same horizon line,
then overlaid. the idea is to challenge traditional opticality by compressing both time and space,
highlighting rhythms and flows unique to a place. repetitive objects and spatial proportions are
thus amplified, while subtle differences exhibit vibration. the following diptychs show sharp
contrast of urban fabric from the same cultural and physical latitude. an old town and a new
town, a renaissance arcade and a modernist loggia, a local neighborhood and a global district, a
native street and a conquesters colonial street.
old and new in barcelona: ciutat vella (left) and eixample (images by author)
renaissance and modernist in marseille: quai du port (left) and unite dhabitation (images by author)
248
islamic and french in fes, morocco: medina (left) and ville nouvelle (images by author)
local and global in jakarta, indonesia: kampong (left) and jl. sudirman (images by author)
native and colonial in cusco, peru: incan street (left) and spanish street (images by author)
249
installation
the city and the city was installed for three weeks in february 2015 at wurster hall gallery, uc
berkeley along with the two other branner fellows work.
the city and the city branner fellowship installation, february 2015
250
2014 branner fellows gallery installation, february 2015

251
bibliography
bacon, edmund n. design of cities. new york: penguin, 1974.
brown, g. z. and mark dekay. sun, wind & light. new york: john wiley & sons, 2001.
busquets, joan. barcelona: the urban evolution of a compact city. cambridge: harvard gsd, 2005.
busquets, joan and felipe correa. cities x lines. cambridge: harvard gsd, 2006.
calvino, italo. invisible cities. orlando: harcourt, 1974.
cohen, jean-louis and monique eleb. casablanca: colonial myths and architectural ventures. new
york: monacelli, 2002.
curtis, william j. modern architecture since 1900. new york: phaidon, 1996.
de sola-morales, manuel. ten lessons on barcelona. collegi darquitectes de catalunya, 2008.
knowles, ralph. sun rhythm form. cambridge: mit press, 1981.
sanford kwinter. wildness: prolegomena to a new urbanism. far from equilibrium: essays on
technology and design culture. barcelona: actar. 2008. pp. 186-193.
kostof, spiro. the city shaped. london: thames and hudson, 1991.
lynch, kevin. a theory of good city form. cambridge: mit press, 1981.
maki, fumihiko. investigations in collective form. st. louis: washington university, 1964.
mieville, china. the city & the city. new york: random house, 2009.
morris, a e j. history of urban form: before the industrial revolution. essex: longman, 1994.
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The City and The City - A Study of Urban Topology

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A Study of Urban Topology

2014 John K Branner Research Fellowship

2014 University of California Berkeley

The City and The City

2014 John K Branner Research Fellowship

proposal & methodology

latin american region

the city & the city

mielville, china. the city & the city.

invisible city: eudoxia

calvino, italo. invisible cities.

the city emerged

the city composed

the city intersected

san giovanni valdarno

the city composed

the city composed

the city emerged

the city emerged

the city emerged

the city emerged

the city intersected

the city intersected

the city composed

image: joan busquets, 2005.

the city composed

the city emerged

the city intersected

the city intersected

ciutat vella: ferran-princessa axis

eixample: gran via

the city composed

the city intersected

the city composed

the city composed

the city composed

the city composed

the city composed

the city composed

the city composed

the city composed

the city composed

san giovanni valdarno

the city composed

san giovanni valdarno

italy :: san giovanni valdarno

the city composed

the city composed

the city composed

the city emerged

after sunday dinner, 5pm.

during sunday dinner, 3pm.

the city composed

the city composed

sforzinda, filaretes ideal city of the late renaissance

the city composed

the city emerged

fes el-bali (medina)

the city emerged

the city emerged

the city emerged

the city emerged