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ETD Abstract Container

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Two-dimensional City

Xu, Ting
http://orcid.org/0000-0003-0022-6520
http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=ucin1491317866390447

Abstract Details

2017, MARCH, University of Cincinnati, Design, Architecture, Art and Planning: Architecture.
“One-dimensional” was a concept first proposed by Herbert Marcuse (1898-1979) in his book, One-Dimensional Man: Studies in the Ideology of Advanced Industrial Society. In his book, he criticizes the controlling nature of consumerism. People have become used to being “one-dimensional man” because their needs are manipulated by vested interests. The construction of many modern cities, like Beijing, seems to have proved his argument. With the operation of the “false friends of our cities” which are pointed out by Victor Gruen’s (1903-1980) book, The Heart of Our Cities: The Urban Crisis, Diagnosis and Cure, cities tend to pursue overwhelming efficiency and make people manipulated. Diversity and vitality are suppressed in cities. A variety of commercial buildings serve to create an illusion of vitality. However, in the Hutong areas, i.e. the preserved traditional residential areas in Beijing, people do not passively react to the urban plans for the areas, so the “inner dimension” is still seen. In the recent history of Hutongs, the “inner dimension” worked to transform one-dimensional areas into two-dimensional ones. People’s subjective consciousness is evoked due to the three of its major spatial features: the continuity of public space, the strong connections between diverse programs, and the ambiguity of the subordination of public space. The project aims to learn from the Hutongs and translate its spatial features into design principles when developing the urban areas outside the Hutong areas. The area concerned in this project includes the National Center for the Performing Arts (NCPA) and the surrounding Hutong area. The clear division between the two derives from the top-down planning process, suppressing the potential vitality of the area. Based on the specific conditions of the site, the project takes into consideration more programs related to the Hutongs and the NCPA. By removing some elements and adding others, as well as some other methods, a contiguous public space is created between the two. Meanwhile, the subordination of public space is functionally and spatially blurred. As a result, the project not only establishes a strong connection between the Hutongs and the NCPA, but also makes people’s subjective consciousness play an important role in generating more vitality in the project and its surrounding areas.
Udo Greinacher, M.Arch. (Committee Chair)
Aarati Kanekar, Ph.D. (Committee Member)
33 p.
Architecture
one-dimensional; two-dimensional; control; Hutong; vitality; ambiguity

Recommended Citations

Citations

  • Xu, T. (2017). Two-dimensional City [Master's thesis, University of Cincinnati]. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=ucin1491317866390447

    APA Style (7th edition)

  • Xu, Ting. Two-dimensional City. 2017. University of Cincinnati, Master's thesis. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center, http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=ucin1491317866390447.

    MLA Style (8th edition)

  • Xu, Ting. "Two-dimensional City." Master's thesis, University of Cincinnati, 2017. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=ucin1491317866390447

    Chicago Manual of Style (17th edition)

ucin1491317866390447
315
© 2017, some rights reserved.Creative Commons License Two-dimensional City by Ting Xu is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License. Based on a work at etd.ohiolink.edu.
This open access ETD is published by University of Cincinnati and OhioLINK.