Becker, A-K; (2008) New communities. Doctoral thesis , UCL (University College London).

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Abstract

Taking the ideas of the Bauhaus in the 20th century and their interpretation in the 2151 century on housing developments this paper examines to what extent design and spatial configuration could influence and encourage the successful generation of communities as living entities regarding spatial and social properties. It explores how these ideas are reflected in their interrelation of the inside and outside and tries to define the connection between public and private spatial layout. The objective of the analysis is to pinpoint those variables which are associated with 'liveability' in the design and experience of external and internal spaces in the three estates and any spatial factors that may contribute to the generation of community. This paper comprises of three sections: theoretical framework, analytical models and observation analysis that comment on how spatial configuration could affect the encounter and interfaces of inhabitants and how the intelligibility of the overall structure is seen and translated in the external and internal spatial layouts. The intention behind this study is to explore any potential relationships between spatial configuration and societal make up of the communities, by carrying out a configurational analysis of three Bauhaus estates in Weimar and Dessau, Germany. The investigative methodology combines space syntax tools with geographical methods of urban morphology and is based on representations and quantitative measures of key properties of the estates and their urban environment such as land uses, figure/ ground ratio, the amount and type of public spaces, the way building frontages and create boundaries and interfaces between interior and exterior spaces as well as exploring the axial representations of interconnectness and accessibility of each estate within its embedded urban environment. The aim of the report is to use spatial analysis to detect relationship between spatial design and social properties within the community as well as the connection between the community and the city itself. Subsequent discussion reveals a correspondence between spatial layout and the generation of a community is determined by the enabling of human copresence in the space. The setting out should strongly relate the visual connections and morphological properties of the configuration and generate human copresence and social interaction between inhabitants and visitors. The paper concludes that there is a possible relation between the generation process of communities and their spatiality.

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