Paul Lukez and Hugh Ferriss Readings

We were assigned two readings: Paul Lukez's "Kenmore Square: A Case Study" and Hugh Ferriss's "The Metropolis of Tomorrow."

Kenmore Square
I found this reading extremely helpful in thinking about to carve out a space. The students produced charcoal drawings based on a pedestrians visual experience of space and time. They began with a figure-ground study and overlayed it with charcoal dust. Then they mapped several perspectives of the square based on the direction of approach. The visual experiences were represented by gradations of charcoal; the whitest space represented the most visible space.

There were some important points that I got out of this reading. The project was all about the pedestrian's ever-changing perception and experience within a 4th dimension of time and space. Working through perspective, versus plan, puts us within the pedestrians vantage point and therefore simulates more than just geometrical relationships put forth in plan. It's important to work in plan, section, and perspective concurrently for this reason. "Drawings and graphic explorations should be used as a means to improve the design process and products we produce - hopefully enhancing our environment and enriching the public's experience of space" (83).


Metropolis of Tomorrow
I only had a chance to flip through the electronic copy of this book, however I ordered it from Amazon because I found Hugh Ferriss's drawings to be both provocative and intriguing. The drawings which stood out the most to me were those which included scale figures. The scale figures, or people, always seems to be lurking in the shadows of the buildings and have no gradation whatsoever. I may post some of the drawings which caught my attention.