PLACELESSNESS OF PLACE: A N EXAMINATION OF THE LOSS OF PLACE IN DESIGNING CONTEMPORARY U R B A N SPACES A Dissertation presented to the FACULTY OF ARCHITECTURE UNIVERSITY OF MORATUWA SRI LANKA for the Final Examination MSc. (Architecture) s Peshali Perera Faculty of Architecture University of Moratuwa 1999. 71725 1 H A B S T R A C T The knowledge tliat people had of the places in which they lived is being lost. There is increasing ignorance of geography, whether international, national, or local, accompanied by an ephemeral commitment to their home places. Modern bonds to places are declining in the contemporary urban society. Places are becoming less meaningful, they have lost their identity, once used to establish exciting places. The interrelationship of people and place are parting; enforcing deterioration of the public realm, injecting "plaeelessness" in the locale. Modern cities all over the world are in a serious plight: resulting from the above. Cities were meant for the people in the past . Why shouldn't it be so today? The street, the most important aspect of urban design, as a linkage of all scales of interaction are being invaded adversely by the automobile, thus setting the nature for going through, not for staying in. Other forces at work in modem society may do additional damage to feelings of being-in-place. Mass media, consumerism and intentional styles of architecture cause of homogenisation of culture makes many urban places similar in material form through symbolisation that is not tied to local culture. A sense of "dwelling" is often lacking in that the wholeness of place has become fractured. Modern landscape and cityscape tend to create environment without significant places. The study examines the concepts and definitions of places as against the causes for plaeelessness in its preliminary chapters. It will investigate into the adverse factors which results plcelecelessness in contemporary urban places. It focuses on the social and physical contexts, which forms an urban culture and the experiences of it. It will concentrate on the morphological structures of the built fabric of the urban form and its relationship with people. The study is further focused on the relationship of man to the street, its activities and his movement patterns, and how he perceives it as a place in-order to determine "plaeelessness" in the city, in terms of the built fabric, the streets and the .waterfronts; a wasted resource to make a place. The study will reveal die nature of successful urban places and how it could be materialised by enhanced design vocabularies, reinforced by better guides for urban design as a holistic approach. i i A C K N O W L E D G E M E N T S To those people who helped rue in the Dissertation to whom I owe a special debt of gratitude. To Archt. Madura Prematilleke, senior lecturer, whom I'm .profoundly grateful for his inspiring comments which initiated me in doing this study. Archt Vidura Sri Nammuni, senior lecturer, for all his guidance in analysing the relevance of the study and the encouragement offered. Mr. K.D. Fernando, senior lecturer, Town & Country Planning Dept., for the valuable comments offered amidst his busy schedule. I shall remember with gratitude for all the support given by the Year masters Archt. Ranjith Alahakoon and Dr. L.S.R Perera for their efforts in making this a reality. To Col. Vikum Siriwardena and Col. S. Perera for their help granted in making this study a success. I shall remember with great appreciation the assistance given to me by Lt. Jayaweera, Lnc.Corp. Alwis, Sgt. Indraratne and Pvt. Pushpakumara. To Mark and M D , for their help extended to me, for the days they spent in trudging around places that I wanted to visit. A very special thank to my colleagues Shantha and Nihantha and all my friends who supported me throughout at difficult times. To Lalo, for all his support given to me even at the veiy last days of his stay. Finally I wish to show my love and affection to my mother, and my father who stood by me all the time and who took up the tedious task checking the manuscripts even at very short notice, and all my family members who tolerated and helped me in different ways to make my project a success. iii LIST O F C O N T E N T S Page ABSTRACT ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS in CONTENTS IV INTRODUCTION Observation Need for the Study Intention of the Study Methodology Limitations of the Study CHAPTER ONE - PLACE Vs PLACELESSNESS 1.1 PLACE - A DEFINITION 1 1.1.1- Perceptions of Plncc 1 1.1.2- Attributes of a Place 6 1.1.3- Characteristics of a Place