On the edge: Design & Contextual unit
Typology Review (2,500-3,000 words ±10%)
The Typology Review is a study of a particular building type, based on analysis and critical
examination of relevant examples. The question of type has generated broad discussion in
architectural studies. The type of an architectural project/building may be defined with
respect to various of its characteristics (urban, programmatic, spatial); most commonly,
buildings are classified in types according to use (churches, hospitals, town halls, etc) or form
(morphology) (Forty, 2000, p. 304). Thus, the term typology may refer both to the study of a
specific building type and its representative features, and to the comprehensive study of a
relevant/exemplary project.
In this unit we focus primarily on housing i.e., residential typology; we will study housing
designs with respect to their form and according to the following broad categories: block,
tower, slab, urban villa, terrace, courtyard, etc.
Collective housing and the question of density
Following the industrial revolution and especially since the end of 18th century / beginning of
19th, accumulation of people in cities intensified and housing design focused mainly on
different forms of collective housing. In collective housing, each household / housing unit
(apartment, loft, duplex) makes part of a bigger community, the residential complex, where
certain aspects of living (access, recreation, amenities, working spaces, etc.) are shared.
Rising of urban populations has created a rupture between the urban (condensation) and the
rural (dispersion) and created liminal zones with varying density (of both people and
activities), and lesser defined characteristics comparing to urban centres. Housing on the edge
of the city has become synonymous with suburban, ‘cookie-cutter’ designs and urban sprawl,
the ‘spilling’ of lower density urbanisation (single-family housing) onto large zones of land,
leading to the destruction of wild-life habitats and unsustainable developments.
In this unit you are required to analyse the question of density with respect to a chosen
historical precedent of collective housing (see list of housing projects on Canvas), as well as in
relation to Canford Heath area, situated on the edge of Poole.
You are asked to write a 2500-3000 typology review, critically presenting the design vision of
your chosen precedent. Your essay need be illustrated with analytical material (sketches,
drawings, visualisations) produced during the design studio workshops throughout the term,
as well as with appropriate imagery, extracted from reliable academic sources. Your analysis
should draw on available literature (see relevant Key Texts on Canvas) and tackle all scales of
the project (urban; neighbourhood / building; unit).
Typology Review Outline (2500-3000 words ±10%)
A. INTRODUCTION (300-350 words)
In this opening section of your essay, you present the purpose of the study and outline the
problem to be solved. Consider the following:
✓ How is density defined in terms of housing? What issues are linked to building on the edge
of the city? Why is the question of building on the edge particularly important in the
current day and time, in the British housing context, and particularly around Bournemouth
and Poole?
✓ Give a few details about the historical precedent you will analyse (location, design /
construction date, architect(s)) and the residential typology to which it corresponds (block,
tower, slab, urban villa, terrace, courtyard, …).
✓ Explain in a few words how the typology of your precedent addresses the question of
density. In what way does this particular project represent /reinterpret this approach?
Remember to specify whether the project was built within a city or on its edges and, briefly,
how this has impacted the design idea.
B. MAIN BODY (think about providing an appropriate heading for this section)
1. Context (400-450 words)
Here, you will relate the history of the project, the general premises of the design, and how it
came into being. Cover the following points:
✓ Provide brief information about the project’s architects / designers and their professional
trajectory. What point of their career does this project represent?
✓ Does the project relate to any similar ones they produced around the same time or in other
periods of their professional activity?
✓ Who were the clients and what were their aspirations regarding this building scheme?
What were the prerequisites of the brief? Was the scheme part of a public housing program
and, if so, what were the program’s principal goals? How did the project eventually fare in
relation to those goals?
✓ What were the characteristics of the social / economic / cultural era of the project? How
did the design react to those conditions? Provide information on any other relevant artistic
references of the time of the project’s creation.
2. Urban vision (300-350 words)
In this section you are primarily required to consider the project at an urban scale. Study the
site plan as well as its overall morphological configuration and volumetric arrangement.
✓ Discuss accesses, services / amenities, communal spaces, key connection points with the
broader neighbourhood.
✓ How are the complex’s boundaries defined in relation to its surroundings? Do they clearly
differentiate it from its setting or are they ‘porous’ / less defined? What are the primary
features of the project’s settings?
✓ How is density tackled in terms of the project’s volumetric configuration? How close are
the various sections of the building between them and with surrounding constructions?
What kind of views are thus enabled?
3. Programmatic vision (300-350 words)
Look at how the buildings of the complex are articulated, study floor plans, sections,
elevations.
✓ What types of uses are integrated in the plan? What kinds of amenities make part of the
project’s brief / building program?
✓ Where are communal spaces placed in the complex and what purpose do they serve? Are
there any shared spaces between neighbouring units?
✓ How is vertical and horizontal circulation organised (central circulation core / galleries /
halls / corridors)?
✓ How is the question of density tackled in terms of apartment types (diversity of households
/ unit types / their arrangement in plan)? Is there an effort to regroup certain types of units
together? How is this translated in elevation?
4. Spatial vision (300-350 words)
Study the design of the various unit types, especially in plan and section; consider a schematic
diagram of uses (organigram) within the unit.
✓ How is density tackled within the unit? Are there any spaces/rooms without clearly
assigned uses and/or destined to multiple uses? Is there any provision for working space /
studios within the unit or close to it?
✓ How are different uses organised within the space of the unit? Do they correspond to
different times of the day / different members of the household / formal and informal
purposes?
✓ How is circulation organised within the unit/apartment? Are there alternative routes?
✓ What kinds of lifestyle do you think each different unit type promote?
5. Discussion (600-650 words)
Think about all the observations you have already made about your precedent and especially
any comments related to the question of density.
✓ How did the final design fare in relation to the project’s brief (as explained in the ‘Context’
section)?
✓ How was the project received by the users? What do sources of authority report about the
project? Based on your analysis, do you agree with these opinions?
Expand your discourse around:
✓ Issues related to building on the edge, especially issues typical of current housing needs in
the UK.
✓ Your understanding of the question of density, especially in the UK.
Think about the Canford Heath area and summarise here the principal characteristics of this
‘edge’.
✓ In what ways does Canford Heath resemble and / or is it different to your precedent’s
context? How is the current social context and conditions of the construction market
different to those of the historical precedent?
✓ What has the analysis of the precedent revealed in relation to its efficiency? According to
your opinion, which design principles of the precedent are applicable (or not) to the
Canford Heath area and why?
C. CONCLUSIONS (300 - 350 words)
In your conclusions, you will summarise your findings and tackle your vision for the edge. Go
back to the (sub)urban vision of the precedent and think about:
✓ How successfully has the project been implemented?
✓ How do you position yourself with respect to its main design idea and premises?
✓ Is this a vision that can be transplanted in the ‘edge’ situation of Poole and under what
conditions?
Remember to use connecting paragraphs to smoothly transition from one sub-theme / section
to the next.
It is crucial that all your argumentation points are supported by solid evidence, your own
analysis, and bibliographic references of authority (both online and printed).
Quotes should be fluidly integrated into the text using single inverted commas and referenced
between brackets, for example: (Forty, 2000, p.12); (Colomina, 1992, pp.92-93). Long quotes
(longer than 2 lines) should be indented and separated by a line space at the top and bottom.
Finally, the text must be referenced in accordance with the AUB Referencing Guide (Harvard
Style) available from the AUB Library website. would the life reusing project be a good case study for this essay