Friday, April 27, 2012

Slow Architecture



A recent blog about various "slow" movement got me thinking about how this could be compared to architectural design.  You may have heard of the slow-food movement in which people seek to savor each instant of the eating expereince.  There is alrady a slow architecture wikipedia entry regarding this but I think there is a better definition. 

To me slow architecture should refer not to the pace of construction but to the pace of design.  As a designer, we frequently visit a site only a few times, if at all.  Even then the visits are fairly close together and may be at about the same time of day.  A slower design process would allow the designer to truly expereince the site over time.  A good example is my own back yard.  I'm constantly suprised by the changes that take place in the span of just a few months.  Various plants blum at different times, trees lose and gain leaves at different times, and of coarse the sun takes a different path through the sky. 

Changes in at a site over time are particularly important in urban design and urban architecture.  A good urban design is attractive to users at all times.  If achieved, this allows cities to be occupied at all times.  I'm not saying that the streets should be packed at 4 am, but there is something wrong with a city is the streets are empty at 10 am. 


Street cafe in Rome vs. the outskirts of downtown Detroit, just a few blocks from Comerica Park