Criticism and Assessment in Architecture and Urbanism - Essay Example

 The chapter takes an in-depth look at the two paradigms that are usually not correlated in architecture; performance evaluation and architectural criticism. The analysis of these two factors will depict their relationship and an answer to the chapter’s hypothesis; projects highlighted in the public or media may not be up to balance with the users’ expectations. This assumption is based on the current abstract coverage of architecture by the media. The media is seen to concentrate on the architects, the designs and the uniqueness of projects. Prof. Salama explains that this detached nature of coverage is as a result of the disciplined being viewed as an art, in turn concentrating on the artistic nature of the projects without much consideration for the users. Al-Azhar Park is taken as a case study to examine whether the rigorous media coverage of the project as a success depicts the users’ point of view. The strategy employed involves two critical investigations. The first is an analysis of all sources of media in Al-Azhar Park, both online and printed. This involved a total of 64 sources that were thoroughly analyzed to get an insight of how the media put forth the project. The other strategy concentrates on the users’ view of the park features through a survey. The information acquired from both investigations is integrated to give a comprehensive understanding of the project. ANALYZING FEATURES OF THE PARK. Examining the park reveals remarkable structures that awe, in their art and designing. Such features as hilltop restaurant, lakeside café, look out plaza and water cascade that are not common in public areas in Cairo. The park design was to bring out an exceptional panorama of the monuments. The lake café is at a strategic place with features that appreciate the Islamic culture. Other prominent features are: the amphitheater, gallery space, car-free zones and tree lightning. On a higher scale of examination, the park offers redevelopment of the district and reformation of various features like the Ayyubid wall. Improving the socio-economic conditions by clearing of the slum for the project to take root. MEDIA COVERAGE OF AL-AZHAR SCRUTINIZED. All the materials were read through, and key concepts noted down into categories. There was then thorough analysis of the frequency of the noted concepts and final step of transforming the information into categories from qualitative into quantitative. The following concepts were found to be most prevalent: Redevelopment, slum clearance, Cairo’s past, recreational space and socio-economic development. The highest ranking categories were on redevelopment and recreational space. This includes all aspects related to these categories such that rehabilitation would be recorded in redevelopment. The other two categories of slum clearance and Cairo’s past were equally ranked by same number of mentions. The socio-economic development category was the last ranked by few mentions compared to the above categories. USERS’ REACTIONS TO AL AZHAR’S PARK DESIGN QUALITIES. Users’ were handed questionnaires drawn to address the concepts gathered from the media analysis. The questions mostly dealt with appreciation of key features of the park. A high number of respondents said the overall design was excellent, notably rating it in relation to adoption of good structures that embrace their Muslim culture. When it came to choosing their preferred place in the park, most users’ chose the gardens, fountains and the café. Both the amphitheater and the hill top restaurant were the least admired. In addition, the gardens and water bodies were also chosen as the most preferred features by park users.’ A percentage of the users’ claimed the signage system was not efficient. The users’ view of the lighting system is equally distributed on excellent, good and fair and the majority was not satisfied. Responses to the patterns of visits depicted that the visitors preferred late afternoons or night to visit the park. It was a surprise when no respondent claimed to visit the park during weekend mornings. Majority visit the park with their family while a few percentages come with friends. The activities liked by the users’ include chatting, sitting on a garden and playing with children on the green gardens. Finally, the users’ were asked to rate the management of the park by using a five-point scale. Most of the respondents were satisfied with the management with few numbers dissatisfied and no one was very dissatisfied. On the key issue of management, the respondents preferred private than public management. The study depicts the importance of the media scrutinization to study performance and users’ expectations. The analysis revealed key concepts not covered by the media such as the signage system dissatisfaction. However, the reactions of users’ on the park features correlate with the media views. The media is still inadequate in articulating users’ perceptions. The in-depth analysis of both the architectural performance and users, evaluation was a much needed move in architecture. This is because most works deal with these two concepts separately when both are equally important in architecture. The two are needed for better decision-making and improvement of designs. It serves as a reminder to the media of the key role of the user in architecture and the importance of addressing their feedbacks for improvement in the sector. Apart from the media, the information gathered on management gave poor feedback on the capacity of the government for management. It highlights key issues in a clearly understandable mechanism describing how the concepts are critical for architecture. The comprehensive analysis was giving case studies of actual places to give significant results of the park performance. This proves that architectural criticism can be a positive tool to build on form and function in architecture. Notably, is the combination of two contentious issues that are important in architecture to do a comprehensive study on the park. Read More