Pedestrian Ways: covered urban system

Source: Yao Li archdaily.com

Xiaoquan Elementary School, Xiaoquan town, Sichuan Province, China, 2010 designed by TAO

The design is conceived as a cluster of small buildings to create a micro-city like campus. The fragmentary instead of unified building composition creates many urban like place such us streets, plazas, courtyards, and steps at various scales. These places are intended to encourage diversified and spontaneous activities of children. Small-scale playful corners and labyrinth like space as passage and playground are created to provoke children’s curiosity and imagination. Through this, we also intend to continue the urban space memory of Xiaoquan town in the school building, so as to avoid completely losing the continuity of urban fabric during rebuilding process after earthquake. -- ArchDaily

Source: Chyutin Architects archdaily.com

Haifa Court House, Haifa, Israel, 2011 designed by Chyutin Architects

The interior of the structure is designed as a covered urban system. The courthouse’s entrance space is the continuation of the external pedestrian street, which is defined by the office buildings and stores along its length. The space is designed as a covered street defined on its sides by the administrative and judicial wings. The public activities (the library and restaurant) face the main space, like the stores on the main road.  -- ArchDaily

Source: Richard Haughton archdaily.com

Birmingham Schools Framework, Birmingham, UK, 2012 designed by Haworth Tompkins

A new circulation spine connects the many disparate elements and a previously inaccessible courtyard has been transformed by larch-clad covered walkways to create a sheltered, collegiate atmosphere. This new ‘Quad’ is a shared amenity that can be used to meet, pray, study and dine. The choice of timber is multi-layered: It provides an attractive, robust, maintenance free enclosure, and its organic nature contrasts with the tough urbanity of the surrounding buildings. Internally, the narrow corridors have been opened up creating breakout areas, or ‘social learning zones’, around which staff offices are located. These reduce congestion, increase passive supervision and allow daylight into the space, in addition to creating informal learning spaces outside of the classroom. -- ArchDaily