Urban design and building regulation changes in the transformation of the urban block : A design analysis though the lens of urban climatology in Budapest

• Hungary witnessed limited climatic considerations in the practice of architecture and urban planning in the past. The omission of urban climate related issues was — and still is — essentially the outcome of the prevailing technocratic approach. This negligence, coupled with the growth in motor vehicle ownership, changing building design and air-conditioning practices, contributed to the the deterioration of the urban atmospheric environment over the last decades. The efforts to improve dwelling conditions over previous centuries, culminated in several waves of urban design and planning reforms. The outcome of these changing forces was the evolution of the Budapest urban block. During the twentieth century, its development followed the line described by Ernst May (‘from the block to the slab'), only to surpass it with hybrid forms in the twenty-first. This paper, focusing on the transformation of the Budapest urban block, sets forth to provide a historic cross section from the period of the city’s late industrialization to present day. The analysis of this process is facilitated though the identification and use of urban block typologies: each representing distinct urban design and regulatory paradigms. By reviewing the main forces that influenced the emergence of different urban block typologies, and subsequently, presenting an analysis of the resultant configurations, the author aims at introducing climatic considerations into urban design. Downtown urban blocks are at the center of this study, as they represent the most crucial section of the city. These blocks are not only exposed to the highest intensities of the urban heat island effect, but are also facing drear consequences due to the lack of urban green spaces. Because the study aims at addressing urban living and urban environmental concerns, the analysis is focused on existing metropolitan housing models. The first part of the paper presents the evolution of aesthetic, hygienic, structural and other concerns that contributed to the development of Budapest urban block, as well as, identifies the four developed typologies. The second part of the paper presents an analysis by juxtaposing the main regulatory principles and the resultant typologies, in an attempt to pinpoint measures that both effects micro-climate, as well as, are within the control of urban planning, design or architecture. The aim of this analysis is to bring forth the readily available regulatory measures that could become climate- sensitive design guidelines in the future. The outcome of this paper aims to inform policy makers, urban planners, architects and other building professionals regarding the necessity of the inclusion of climate- sensitive design principles into our current design and regulatory practices. In order to extend our understating of this subject -- regarding the casual relationship between urban design parameters and the resultant microclimates --, the author argues for further microclimatic investigations. These subsequent studies will clarify and support the emerging climate-sensitive urban design guidelines, which in turn could ameliorate the existing microclimatic conditions.

Ämnesord

HUMANIORA  -- Konst -- Arkitektur (hsv//swe)

HUMANITIES  -- Arts -- Architecture (hsv//eng)

NATURVETENSKAP  -- Geovetenskap och miljövetenskap -- Klimatforskning (hsv//swe)

NATURAL SCIENCES  -- Earth and Related Environmental Sciences -- Climate Research (hsv//eng)

Publikations- och innehållstyp

ref (ämneskategori)

kon (ämneskategori)