can also be beneficial to treat towers as a collection of
related but different parts. When Sir Christopher Wren
designed his 50 or so London churches after the Great
Fire of 1666, he saw them as complementary elements
both between themselves and with regard to the
dominating presence of the dome of St Paul’s. Each
tower or spire was different, but taken together they had
a certain unity.
The relationship between old and new city landmarks
is a valuable subject for the sketchbook. It is best to draw
the landmarks from within the street scene, showing their
relationship to the urban context. Hence the sketch will
probably contain streets as well as the tall buildings. By
setting the landmarks into context, their importance as an
aid to navigation becomes clearer. A sketch exploring the
impact of one landmark upon another may dwell upon the
need for singularity of form or the formal relationship of
one skyscraper to another.
By understanding the relationship of different parts of
the townscape – squares, streets, landmarks, etc. – one
can begin to appreciate the interconnected nature of
urban design. Many modern cities are hard to find our
way around because the routes are not landmarked, or
because the tall buildings all look the same. Pedestrians
experience abrupt changes of direction and level without13.7
Our appreciation of towns is
usually derived from the public
streets. Here in Carrington,
Midlothian, the barn on the left
deflects our view into the main
street with the trees framing the
entrance. The church tower acts
as a useful landmark.
Landmarks, skyline and city image 111