This week, the lecture was mainly centered on urban design lessons and case study projects in China. In order to be effective with our work, we as architects needs to be able to successfully frame space that relates to the surrounding areas. There are major influences that shape the way in which a structure is perceived as well. The most notable of these factors are design, equipment, planning process, analysis, environment, regulations, and character to target a few. Viewing urban design as architecture of the city, we expanded and applied this lens to examine the distribution of open space. In an areas as compact and populated as the coast of China, whose rapid population growth is almost four times larger than that of the United States of America, it is vital to consider how space ties things together and ways of creating more desirable environments. Additional features such as preserving land and open space should be accounted for as well. The driving principle behind the presentation is that cities evolve over time, and it is our job to richly enhance the urban framework rather than eradicate it.

An interesting concept that was presented to us was that there’s a fabric between objects and space. The relations between the forms of surrounding buildings, and creating civic spaces to enhance these routes are all important variables that affect the manner in which we perceive a structure. Essentially, we must discourage the bad, and encourage the good. Through our work, we must learn to speak about our inner thoughts and emotions, and how these aspects define us as designers.