Nr. 3 september 2011/63. årgang - Dansk Byplanlaboratorium

Damascus CitadelHealing architecture within the tradition of modernarchitecture and stimulating landscapes,address the interaction between health and environment,while international research points atthe relation between city structure and stress disorders,indicating a need for a better understandingbetween the two fields.Guidebooks like ‘Stil Amsterdam’, ‘StilteplekkenAmsterdam’, ‘Paris au Calme’, ‘Ou trouver lecalme à Paris’ also address the need for quiet places,just like EU points out indicators, accordingto which quiet places are recreational city zoneswhere noise level does not rise above 55 dBA.But silence though, is not just a question of noisereduction or no sound at all, but rather a questionof balance and the nature of sound. Sound addsto our understanding of the physical environmentand perception of space, while absence of soundleaves us in a physical and emotional vacuum.Sound is an important component in the universe,that relates us to rhythms, to nature, to life, toour inner being and cities are filled with sound.While harmonious sounds, dynamics and flowsmay attune us to our own silence, disharmonioussounds become disturbing noise, that may causeenergy flow and exchange to stagnate and leaveblockages in buildings and people.Quiet places may be experienced differently fromone person to the next, and what may be experiencedas positive stimuli by one, may be experiencednegatively by another. The experience ofbalance though, remains characteristic by invitingus back to our inner silence and harmony withinourselves and our surroundings -- whether it is Christiansborg Riding Ground withit´s beautiful and harmonious proportions whererich, heavy soil and the full moon seems to opena doorway that make us feel one with heavenand earth ... or the tapis roulant in the Paris metrowhere the motion of the walkway, the flow ofpeople and the classical music in the headphoneslift us out of the moment and the limitations ofthe space to a greater connection with everythingin the middle of the hustle and bustle of the city..or OBA that mirrors the multicultural, dynamicand diverse culture and dialogue of Amsterdamin an abundance of texture and attention to detail...or the citadel in Damascus where sounds fromthe jazz concert and the minaret calling weavewith sounds of the city, merging with flows ofuniversal consciousness and insight - quiet placesadd a balance and harmony that allow us toaccess our inner wisdom.Stepping up to the call for new visions on urbanlife and city management.Workshop Cph | present & debateIntroduced by a series of presentations from thefour cities, we explored the immaterial qualitiesand characteristics, quickly concluding their importance.Keywords like -- seem to categorize the perception of the im-Planning practice OrientationFunctionFeelingStructureConnection Flow SpaceQuality and characteristicmaterial qualities, formulated by the team. Thequalities seem to have common characteristicsand be universal in nature - but how about the40