PUBLIC SPACES IN THE AREAS OF SUBWAY STATIONS

The purpose of this work is to consider the factors influencing on the features of architectural and urban organization of public spaces in the areas of subway stations as important resources for the development of their network in the structure of the largest cities in Ukraine. Public spaces are considered as publicly accessible areas of the city where informal communications and short-term recreation of citizens take place. The location of these objects in the structure of the transport and communication framework of the city creates the preconditions for the formation of a kind of integrated network of public spaces that perform a special communicative function of the city community. This determines the relevance of this work. The need for such spaces is defined by theoretical understanding and a professional approach to their creation. The study has identified the factors that affect the functional and planning parameters of public spaces in the areas of subway stations’ influence. They consist of three groups: - characteristics of the urban situation; - type and rank of the transport interchange; - the needs of passengers who use the subway station, adjacent public transport stations or visit the area for other reasons. The following conclusions have been made on the base of the study: In the zones of subway stations’ influence the locations are formed that fully correspond to the characteristics of "public spaces". These new functional and spatial formations are one of the complex and dynamic elements of the system of public spaces of the city which have significant potential for the formation of an integral network of spaces of this type. It has been improved the necessity of the spatial organization of public spaces in the areas of subway stations’ influence in order to optimize their functional and planning organization and landscaping. It has been defined and researched the factors of influence on the organization of public spaces which will allow to define receptions and principles of their functional and planning organization in various urban organization situations and features of formation of the given objects’ network.

THE <i>KSOUR</i> OF THE MDAGRA OASIS (ER-RACHIDIA, MOROCCO): AN INVENTORY

The Mdagra Oasis is located in the province of Er-Rachidia, in southern Morocco. The objective of this contribution is to present an unparalleled inventory of the ksour existing in that oasis, the result of several years of study and field exploration. During the Saadi period (16th century), this area of the Ziz basin was a compulsory stop for traders on the route of caravans crossing the High Atlas. Later, during the Alauita period, the area was consolidated, and for more than 400 years many important cities were constructed using rammed earth, as Ksar es Souq or Sidi Bou Abdellah Ksar. This is how the oasis came to have an important community integrated by Berbers, Arabs and Jews. Today, most of the oasis’ ksour are abandoned for different reasons and remain in a state of advanced ruin. Through fieldwork, we have been able to identify, record, analyze and classify 53 earthen human settlements, providing an unprecedented study of all of them. Subsequently, a first typological classification was proposed based on aspects such as the implementation in the territory, the external morphology, the urban organization, or the occupation area. The ultimate goal was to document this rammed earth, at-risk heritage since we have witnessed its rapid degradation, and even disappearance in some cases, throughout this investigation.

Performing the City

Cities are live performances. How people behave in the streets, in the parks, in the outdoor markets, in stadiums, and inside buildings gives cities their unique character, ambience, and tone. It is not only what physical spaces and structures signify about urban organization, hierarchies, and aesthetic invention but the imaginative behavior that people perform in and around those structures that is also important for understanding cities. The interdisciplinary field of performance studies can be instrumental in analyzing how cities are produced and performed precisely because the field and its methodological diversity bridges social, political, theatrical, and architectural forms of thought.

Complex urbarchitectonic structures of Pristina and Novi Pazar cities

Contemporary urban development has changed the traditional cities all over the world. In our region, the typical Balkan cities of oriental origin, structure and outlook were almost totally transformed in the second half of the 20th century. Modern movement brought new models of urban organization, different communication concepts and a variety of concepts of modern buildings. Among others, the idea of complex urbarchitectonic structures in urban tissue spread under specific influences and models. After a short review of modern urban development and the idea of complex urban structures, this paper explores urban transformation of less researched cities such as Pristina and Novi Pazar. The focus is on the phenomenon of complex urbarchitectonic structures built in related cities in a short period from 1969-1989. Four complex urbarchitectonic structures will be presented: Kicma and complex in JNA Street in Pristina and Lucne buildings and Jezero buildings in Novi Pazar.