Perspectives on Space

Ever felt the paradox when a lesser space feels larger and the greater space feels smaller? When a corridor outside the classroom seems bigger than the university ground? Or the stepped seating in a public square feels more intimate than the two benches in a corner of a corridor? This feeling of apparent spaciousness is what constitutes the perceived scale of a space. Scale, thus, may be defined as ‘experience of size’ and this experience encompasses the space and the context put together. The importance of scale is not established as a set of absolute dimensions to comply with, but it is a framework of connections between people and places, indoor and outdoor, public and private, large and small.

The city can be experienced as a network of public spaces of different scales, of sizes or function, strung together with streets that have a pattern of hierarchy themselves. This article explores various public spaces around the globe and their characteristics, which vary in their experiential quality by virtue of their scale. These examples are not an exhaustive list of how the context and scale changes the character of any given space but the intention is to explore how scale varies the experiential quality in different conditions.

Bryant Park lets the people transition from a very bustling context to a very personal experience

Streets form the most plentiful and visible parts of our urban commons of cities. As they weave through the buildings and open spaces, they provide myriad experiences to the pedestrians, cyclists and even to someone driving by. The recent concept of ‘complete streets’ is further pushing the use of streets as spaces to socialise and not as mere conduits of transportation. The streets of San Francisco present a lively example of how streets and their perceived scale dramatically change one’s experience. The city is blessed with a remarkable waterfront, busy financial district (downtown) and a closely-knit residential development, all within close proximity of a few kilometers to one another. The Embarcadero (street), which traces San Francisco’s eastern shoreline, memorably demonstrates the good that can come from a natural disaster. After the 1989 earthquake, the old freeway was torn down, replaced by a breezy, beautiful promenade, aptly scaled for the pedestrians who now take a stroll along the waterfront, past the redeveloped piers.

The wide right of ways, overshadowed by high rises of the financial district, still feel welcoming to the pedestrians. Many street elements contribute to making the scale of the streets less intimidating like office buildings having restaurants or shops on the ground floor. There are groups of food vans at the intersections within the pedestrian pathway. By design, the width of the street is constantly broken by an activity, structure or street furniture. Especially at night, when the streets are completely lit, the looming buildings do not form the part of immediate context. The constant activity at street level enlivens the place.

On the other hand, streets of the residential neighbourhoods like Nob Hill or Pacific Heights engage with the people very differently. San Francisco was built on a series of hills and (thankfully) was never completely leveled, which makes for the uniqueness of the city’s urban form. Although cyclists might not be thrilled with the fact, around 15% of the streets are more than 15% grade slope. Secondly, the buildings in residential areas cannot be higher than four floors as per regulations. Hence, the streets typically have two lane carriageways, street parking and three to four floor-high town houses on both sides. The MUNI (on grade tram system) lends colour and movement to the streets. People, who walk past streets like Hyde Street or California Street, are greeted with extended views of the city as the context. The level difference makes views go as far as 20 blocks, even towards the ocean (if facing north). The long views, either looking up or down, alter the perceived scale. One feels part of a much larger context and the experience is elevating.

The Mughal Gardens planned around the Taj Mahal enhance the way the monument is set in their context

Pathways within a built environment lend a distinctive experience from the streets. There is an inherent sense of security. Connaught Place (Rajiv Chowk) in Delhi is a commercial establishment, designed as two concentric circles. As a pedestrian, the inner circle is one of the best arcades to walk through. The three metre-wide covered corridor with triple height roof adjoins a wider (five to eight metre) open-to-air pathway. The combined width comfortably accommodates street furniture, informal commercial activities and space for at least seven people to walk and an occasional tree. Thus, the two paths together achieve both generosity and intimacy of space at the same time. The high roof provides a sense of enclosure and the colonnade divides the width of the entire path but it enhances the perceived scale of the whole arcade. On the contrary, as one turns a corner from the inner to the outer circle, the experience somewhat sours. Apart from the lack of activity, the path itself seems wrongly proportioned. The covered path has the same dimensions as those of the inner circle. However, it opens directly onto the parking areas without the open path in between. The presence of parked cars and intermittent informal kiosks within the corridor disturb the perceived scale making it seem narrower than it actually is.

How can large open spaces or parks be intimate in spite of being in the heart of a business district of one of the global cities in the world? Bryant Park in mid-town New York City helps us understand this. With office buildings on adjacent sides and across the streets, it is aptly called ‘office oasis’. It gives respite to around 7500 New Yorkers every day, making it the most densely occupied urban park in the world. Covering almost 9.1 acres, Bryant Park lets people transition from a very bustling context to a very personal experience. Design elements such as stepped seating spaces, movable street furniture and a generous number of trees humanises the scale of such a large space.

One key-unifying element, which alters our perception of various open spaces in the city, is landscape. It transforms the public squares, boulevards, surplus open areas, left over areas and even abandoned urban sites. The large and the small spaces are connected in a series of graded and tangible steps. This breaks down larger-than-life scale of huge parks and green spaces. Moreover, even at the scale of a single building, landscape design moulds our perception of space around the built and can create a distinct experience. Formal landscapes around monuments may not change the perceived scale of the structure itself but it enhances the experience of the visitor. For example, the linearly planted trees within Champ de Mars in front of the Eiffel Tower in Paris dot the axis leading to the tower. Or the Mughal Gardens planned around the Taj Mahal enhance the way the monument is set in their context. The trees are completely dwarfed by the monument but they provide the visitor with a scaled context at the eye level.

The Embarcadero, which traces San Francisco’s eastern shoreline, demonstrates the good that can come from a natural disaster

As part of urban landscape, singular elements such as larger-than-life sculptures are used as deceptive measures, which alter the perceived scale as well as aim at changing the interaction of the visitors with the space. For instance, ‘Cloud Gate’ or the ‘Bean’ was placed at the centre of AT&T Plaza in Chicago downtown in 2006. It has not only revitalised the space, but the relationship of the space with Chicago downtown has changed. The experiential quality of the space became interesting.

Walking through the medieval cores of many European cities: Paris (France), Brussels (Belgium), Cologne (Germany), Sienna (Italy), Amsterdam (The Netherlands), to name very few, the continuous change in scales of open spaces create a mesmerising experience. The context and sizes of spaces are both dynamic. From one end to the other, one can see and feel changing hierarchy of built environment and open spaces. Elements such as trees, street furniture; structures like fountains, change in materials play with the perceived scale and keep the pedestrian engaged throughout their interaction with the changing tapestry of space.

While human scale and intimacy are considered high virtues of public realm, one should acknowledge the value of grandeur. Some of the greatest public squares such as Trafalgar Square in London, St. Mark’s Square in Venice and Red Square in Moscow hold great importance in the fabric of the respective cities. These awe-inspiring spaces do not shy away from their scale for the pedestrian or any visitor. The spaces along with their built context, which are always historically important buildings, are designed with the intention to intimidate. However, they are very successful public spaces, visited and enjoyed by thousands of visitors each day. The experience is different from a pedestrianised scale open space but it is not undesirable.

Scale matters and is essential to good design and understanding of cities; both big and small are beautiful, neither is wrong. It all depends on their relationship. It is also not just a perennial quest for the ideal scale ratio to its context but it is the texture/pattern of human activity within the space as well.

All Photographs: Shreya Malu