Image from Herman Hertzberger, the renowned designer of unfinished space
I'm currently in Venice as a visiting professor at the Architecture school, IUAV. Over the next three weeks, I'm delivering an ECTS course at Masters level in urban design. The course will seek to investigate the phenomenon of negotiated space, through seminars and field study work; photography and sketching; and will culminate in a single drawing at a large scale, supported by a portfolio of work.
Negotiate: To arrange or settle by discussion and mutual agreement
A negotiated space is a space where the rules that govern it are not sufficient to define the final form or use of the space. This is a positive characteristic: it signifies that there is enough 'looseness' in the design of the space to enable the people who use it to modify it for their own needs and to assume a kind of ownership. Some spaces in the city need to be controlled carefully, but if a city contains only spaces that cannot be negotiated, it will not be a liveable place and its citizens will not live happy lives. This is important for urban design, because as designers we must be careful to allow for negotiation; we must not design too much. A good urban designer will only design what is essential for the city and its people and not more.
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