A book that exposes the need for architecture to respond to the unique conditions of places, such as climate, culture, and community; using language and code as design tools, the volume provokes readers to rethink future scenarios and design practices
Context
Criticism of master planning as a top-down, authoritative approach has gained momentum since the 1970s, raising questions about its predictability and relevance in a rapidly changing world. However, the vision of cities as “engines of growth” has been prevalent in urban development and planning, failing to address issues of poverty, inequality, and marginalisation, and even worsened urban segregation. The lack of flexibility and responsiveness of building and zoning codes to the changing needs and demands in the city is highly problematic leading to insensitive and homogenised urban environments that do not reflect the diversity of local communities. In addition, top-down planning tends to address issues of climate through technical methods and hard infrastructure, with the aim to adapt or mitigate rather than deal with root causes or social engagement. But what about the collective power of citizens calling for public efforts and interventions to rectify imbalances in opportunities and responsibilities?
Practice
Michael Sorkin’s Local Code is a comprehensive project that explores the relationship between urban design, architecture, and local codes and how these elements can shape and influence the design of the cities. The project is presented as a set of “rules” but is best read as a prompt to think about different instruments with which to approach urban design. It deals with the idea that design should be driven by local codes that reflect the unique needs, values, and climatic conditions of a specific place. The book presents a comprehensive view of the city, outlining the rights and duties of its inhabitants through a Bill of Rights, Community Expectations, and Design Guidelines for building a city located at 42 degrees north latitude. Rather than embracing a simplistic view of environmental determinism, Sorkin emphasises that the appearance and evolution of a city is less about architects expressing themselves and more about using form to advance social, cultural, and economic goals through conscious planning. He argues that the conventional approach to building and zoning codes, which are often seen as mandatory to follow, fail to reflect the needs and desires of local communities, arguing that city regulations should prioritise and reflect those needs on different scales.
Local Code’s apparently highly prescriptive and technical approach to urban design intends to provoke spatial planners to re-consider the ways of working and thinking about the cities, challenging the idea of the all-powerful planner and authority. It exposes the self-referential nature of municipal codes, critiquing the conventional idea of the masterplan’s one-size-fits-all approach. Sorkin used Local Code as a template and a writing exercise for students to collectively develop their own codes and policies regarding future practice. Such an approach to the study of urban design and planning acknowledges the political nature of spatial practices and architecture, negotiating the importance of propinquity (proximity) in shaping the built environment. Ultimately, the book can be used as a tool to comprehend and connect the various elements that make up a participatory democracy to the forms that enable and embody it. While not focussed on climate, Local Code is relevant to the thinking of spatial design through a set of protocols and rights, including those of the non-human.