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1st ProofTitle: BA: Architectural Design
Job No: PD0710-67/3184Chapter 3 final (3.2)_.qxd:layouts to chapter one 7/24/10 1:58 PM Page 83
TextClients, users and brief ›Site, context and place› Initial ideasCHORA
CHORA combines architectural practice and research into
complex urban situations. These projects often involve large-
scale projects on sites that face particular problems, such
as very high-density living, climatic extremes or political
sensitivity. CHORA’s research laboratory was founded
with the aim of understanding, modelling and transforming
such places.
CHORA conducts research and develops methods of site
analysis to produce urban studies into these places. They
study both physical and non-physical qualities of each site,
place the site within its larger context, and work with large
and diverse client bodies to establish what defines it as a
place now, and what should define it in the future, in order
to bring about positive change.
In order to understand a site, its context and what defines it
as a place, CHORA has developed an original methodology
called ‘Urban Curation’. This involves fieldwork to record
urban conditions, the dynamic modelling of these conditions,
the creation of potential scenarios for development, and
the formation of proposals for policy-making and action
planning. CHORA has also developed a planning tool called
‘Urban Gallery’. This method and tool are currently being
tested at London Metropolitan University and the Thames
Gateway. Further applications are under preparation for the
trans-oceanic corridor between Chile and Argentina, and the
Taiwan Strait between Taiwan and mainland China.
A major outline of CHORA’s methodology for urban planning
in complex environments can be found in its book, Urban
Flotsam. Raoul Bunschoten, the founding director of CHORA,
teaches internationally and also runs student workshops
that are associated with, and contribute to, live projects
at CHORA.1st ProofTitle: BA: Architectural Design
Job No: PD0710-67/3184Chapter 3 final (3.2)_.qxd:layouts to chapter one 7/24/10 1:58 PM Page 83