Urban Design
| Code | Completion | Credits | Range | Language |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 519U4N | Z,ZK | 3 | 2P+1C | Czech |
- Course guarantor:
- Jana Zdráhalová
- Lecturer:
- Jana Zdráhalová
- Tutor:
- Jan Bittner, Lenka Burgerová, Eva Červinková, David Pfann, Milena Raičević, Pavlína Suchá, Jana Zdráhalová
- Supervisor:
- Department of Urban Design
- Synopsis:
-
The course introduces students to the principles of urban morphology as a framework for understanding the structure, development and everyday functioning of cities. It examines how urban form emerges from the interaction of natural conditions, spatial structures, social processes and economic forces.
Through lectures and a hands-on analytical exercise, students learn to read and interpret existing urban form, work across multiple scales and critically reflect on the relationships between public space, density, housing, segregation and urban life. The course emphasises manual drawing, conceptual thinking and discussion as key tools for exploring the logic of urban form.
- Requirements:
-
None
- Syllabus of lectures:
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01_Urban morphology I.
02_Urban morphology II.
03_Public space I.
04_Public space II.
05_Urban form
06_Urban economy
07_Urban resilience
08_Urban rhythm
09_Form and density
10_Housing and cities
11_Urban segregation
12_Composition
- Syllabus of tutorials:
-
The exercise is carried out in groups of three students. Each group receives an assigned site printed in A1 format and provided as a DWG file.
The aim is not to identify a specific city or to draw the current state. The purpose of the task is to derive a morphological framework that may have led to the emergence of the existing urban structure. The work is based exclusively on the existing built form. Adding or erasing building footprints is not permitted. Drawing is carried out exclusively by hand.
Based on an estimation of the morphology of the natural environment, the main street network, and the functional use of buildings, students propose public spaces, urban blocks, plot subdivision, the city centre, significant civic and commercial facilities, and entrances to the city.
Outputs
City map - Scale 1 : 10,000 | A1 format | group work
The map includes:
street network, morphologically homogeneous urban areas, significant city-wide facilities, boundary between built-up area and open landscape (intravilán / extravilán), contour lines.
The map is accompanied by a brief description of the natural environment, fixation lines, edge conditions, and the influence of the morphological framework on the form of the city.
Detailed map - Scale 1 : 2,000 | A3 format | individual work
public space and urban blocks, character of public space (paved surfaces / green areas), plot subdivision.
Details - Scale 1 : 200 | 2× | individual work
Each detail includes a section, a plan, dimensions, and a perspective view.
Presentation
The final session consists of a presentation in the form of exhibited drawings and a collective discussion. Each group presents for approximately 15 minutes, showing scanned or photographed outputs at all scales. The presentation proceeds from larger to smaller scales and explains the relationships between them. It includes a reflection on challenging areas and key decision-making processes.
- Study Objective:
-
The objective of the study is to develop the ability to read, interpret and explain urban form through the analysis of its morphological structure. The study focuses on understanding the relationships between natural environment, topography, street networks, plot subdivision, block structure and public space.
It aims to explain how economic, social, temporal and environmental processes influence the emergence, transformation and character of urban structures, including the formation of centres, edge conditions, city entrances and building types.
Emphasis is placed on the ability to derive a morphological framework from existing built form, to work across multiple scales, and to critically reflect on the relationships between form, density, housing, segregation and everyday urban life.
- Study materials:
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Berghauser Pont, M., & Haupt, P. (2010). Space, density and urban form. Delft University of Technology.
Habraken, N. J. (1998). The structure of the ordinary: Form and control in the built environment. MIT Press.
Kropf, K. (2017). The handbook of urban morphology. Wiley-Blackwell. https://doi.org/10.1002/9781118747711
Mitchell, D. (2003). The right to the city: Social justice and the fight for public space. Guilford Press.
Panerai, P., Castex, J., Depaule, J.-C., & Samuels, I. (2004). Urban forms: The death and life of the urban block. Architectural Press.
Vaughan, L. (2015). Suburban urbanities. UCL Press.
Whyte, W. H. (1980). The social life of small urban spaces. Project for Public Spaces.
- Note:
- Time-table for winter semester 2025/2026:
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06:00–08:0008:00–10:0010:00–12:0012:00–14:0014:00–16:0016:00–18:0018:00–20:0020:00–22:0022:00–24:00
Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri - Time-table for summer semester 2025/2026:
- Time-table is not available yet
- The course is a part of the following study plans:
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- Navazující Architektura a urbanismus 2023 (compulsory course)
- Navazující Architektura a urbanismus 2025 (compulsory course)