In spatial terms, however, the regulations often led to
a rather classical sense of order. Where the buildings
were high and the streets wide, a generous cube of space
existed in the front of each building. The harmonious
relationship between buildings and space engendered by
such regulations was often reflected in the subdivision of
the façades of buildings. In many nineteenth-century
towns, and particularly in the Merchant City, a
proportional system can be traced in both urban layout
and building design.
Recent development in Glasgow has departed from
the earlier pattern, and now modern buildings are higher
relative to the street width than were their predecessors.
The same is true of Edinburgh, London and even Boston,
which grew up under similar influences.
Sketching proportional systems requires detailed
analysis. You will need to look at the relationship of the
various parts (buildings to streets, windows to walls,
streets to squares) and record them through plan, section
and elevation as well as the freehand sketch. An
understanding of the inherited geometry of places is
particularly useful if, as a student of architecture or a
designer, you intend to make speculative proposals for
the redevelopment of a site or, as a member of the
public, you wish to object to the overdevelopment of a
particular site.
A grasp of proportion is also important when drawing a
complicated building so that its different sections are
represented accurately. Buildings that are full of ornate
detail or complex structural systems are not easy for the
beginner to draw. By dividing the building into parts, each
based upon an expressed structural system such as
columns or a repeating pattern of windows or storey
heights, a complex building can be reduced to its
constituent parts. Once the basic subdivisions are in place
and each has at least an approximation to reality, then the
detail can be added later.
The advantage of breaking down a complex subject
into simple subdivisions is to draw attention to the
proportional systems behind the design. Often the
proportions of a fine building are disguised by over-
elaborate decoration or an array of recent signs. If as an
artist you can see beyond the surface embellishment, you
may uncover a proportional code that not only helps you
draw the building, but also provides clues to design
guides that could be adopted in the future, should you
have ambitions towards being a planning officer, architect
or developer.CASE STUDY 2
THE BASTIDE TOWNS, FRANCE
The Bastide towns in the Dordogne region of France
represent a unique collection of small country towns
eminently suitable for a sketchbook study. Built as new,
fortified settlements in the thirteenth century by different
sovereigns, including the English King Edward I, each
town contains a central market square surrounded by
handsome arcades. A common range of elements is
found in each of the dozen or so towns; besides an
arcaded market square there is generally a timber-framed
market hall, a centrally placed church used originally for
defensive purposes, a town wall with gateways, and a
gridded layout of streets. These elements make for a
remarkable consistency in spite of the different origins of
the towns. For whilst Edward I laid out Beaumont and
Lalinde-Villeréal, Castillonnes and Eymet were new towns
founded by the local monarch Alfonse de Poitiers.
The Bastide towns are grouped in a fertile region about
25 miles square, west and south of Bergerac in south-
west France. Each occupies, or overlooks, a valley bottom
since the agricultural development of the surrounding
marshes was the principal starting point for the towns. As
their economy grew, so too did their architecture.
Houses, often restricted to three storeys high, blossomedUsing drawing to analyse an urban area 187