Assignment 2: Camillo Sitte

Early in the semester, we conducted a group assignment reporting on the work of Camillo Sitte. The chapter on Sitte was randomly assigned by Professor Mark Hamin, and turned out to be a perfect foundation for my interest in urban design and design philosophies. After all, Sitte is known as the "Father of Urban Design". Working with three classmates, I extracted the following highlights from our primary text, City Reader (Routledge Urban Series).

Sitte (pronounced ZIT-eh) was a Viennese architect and art historian.

Sitte criticized architecture and planning that prioritized math and pragmatism over artistic integrity. Human-scale elements and reminders of the past were greatly valued. He cherished ancient cities and felt planning had much to draw from their organic, functional, and beautiful development.

Disenchanted with the emerging "impersonality" of architecture, Sitte emphasized the aesthetic, artistic character
of ancient cities, such as Athens, Greece (art by Richard Sheppard). 

According to Sitte, successful open spaces provide a sense of peace, inspiration, harmony, and happiness. Sitte argued that lines of sight and a distinct link to the history of a place matter. Incorporating distinct local characteristics into development was one way to achieve this.

Sketch of the Acropolis, a veritable "complex jumble of features" (art by Calvin Durham).

Through careful observation - sitting, watching people, and sketching - Sitte noted that the most beloved and well-used spaces were created over time by the people. They had a "complex jumble of features",  and were never designed fully by a single entity.  

Lines of sight and proportional relationships to the built environment matter (art by Andre Voyy).

In his lifetime, Sitte did not receive significant appreciation in his native city, Vienna, Austria. However, his philosophy resonated with many emerging European architects and planners after his death, and his perspective inspired New Urbanism, an urban design movement defined and coined in America in the 1980s.