Gordon Cullen

Gordon Cullen
The designer remains one of a kind
Gordon Cullen was, and always will be remembered as, a prolific and prominent designer, architect, and town planner. Well ahead of his time, and re-directing focus back onto the quality and human scale of place, Cullen's beautiful, all-encompassing sketches demonstrated extraordinary penmanship far superior to many pundits of the day. He was an urban designer interested in planning from the pedestrian's point of view and for the sake of his or her experience.
Although Cullen's customary meticulous drawings often lacked real-world applications, were in stark contrast to reality, and suffered from unheard-of romanticism and idealism, from a human ecology standpoint, his substantial body of work (comprised of streetscape sketches, and his seminal book entitled Townscape), profoundly shaped our view of what would, in a perfect world, constitute the ideal town or city primarily from the pedestrian's point of view. The pedestrian is king. That's right. Such was the detailed enormity and preoccupation of Cullen's work with the common pedestrian that he would devote his life's work to designing amenity-rich, user-friendly communities, if only to unleash a small, minute percentage of the enormous untapped potential lying in our towns and cities.
Like no other, Gordon Cullen was chiefly concerned with the invaluable role of the pedestrian and how towns and cities could become more "readable" and walkable, and following on from this, better allow for uninhibited movement free from dangerous impediments such as high-speed cars. Also, the importance of making sense of towns architecturally is not to be underestimated. Similarly to crafting a well-written sentence, spatial syntax is absolutely vital to achieve legibility, unity and a sense of cohesion within the community. Apart from simply being an affordable mode of transport, better for one's health and the environment, designing a walkable city is an important but oft-neglected means to facilitating everyday socialisation and interaction within the neighbourhood. Prior to the advent of the affordable Fordist factory mode automobile and the rise of the car-based suburbs, the pedestrian was an inherent, indispensable part of every vibrant town or city. Recently, with improved awareness of how cities take on a gendered landscape at night, the role of the pedestrian to provide passive surveillance has increased yet further. Similarly to Jane Jacobs, the design work of Cullen that was most concerned with humanising the landscape almost always sought to counteract the harsh, arrogant monopolization of public open space by automobiles in favour of the humble pedestrian. After all, history has documented that the street was once a social gathering place of play and leisure, of inevitable human interaction (Cullen 1961).
Line-of-sight, too, was a principle held in high regard by Cullen. The importance of building, arranging, and planning for a wide diversity of typologies and public open spaces to create interest and relieve the mind's eye of monotonous high-rise and sprawling suburbia was at the forefront of what Cullen stood for (Cullen 1961). In order to encourage pedestrians to move around the city requires careful consideration of a number of important elements: extensive and continuous footpaths that are well-integrated in to the city, and separated from heavy traffic at all times; a smooth surface free from hazards such as poles or cobblestones; trees to provide visual amenity and give definition to the sidewalk; adequate street lighting for increased safety at night; and a decent, good enough reason to take the walk/journey (Southworth 2006). It is of the utmost importance that walkability must work to facilitate everyday interaction via movement throughout the entire city, not just in a pedestrian-oriented Euclidian zone, or the central business district, for that matter also the area of highest building density, and, arguably, amenity.
The ways in which cities selectively reveal themselves can have some of the biggest impacts on the observer, adding in elements of suspense and surprise, tension and release, just like a piece of music. A concept known as serial vision, the psychological impact on the observer can be dramatic.
"if[…] we design our towns from the point of view of the moving person (pedestrian or car-borne) it is easy to see how the whole city becomes a plastic experience, a journey through pressures and vacuums, a sequence of exposures and enclosures, of constraint and relief." (Cullen 1961, p.10).

Either way, the purpose intended is to elicit an emotional response from the nervous system; humans are emotional creatures. Moreover, Cullen believed that the context of the pedestrian in respects to his environment to be of pivotal importance in arranging spaces for effect and leaving an impact on passers-through.
The Grand Canal: a journey of discovery
For many cities (including Perth), rivers and canals long served the purpose of being the world's first basic transportation network to move goods and people. Also the city's main artery, the Grand Canal is a natural, free-flowing water body and public open space which culminates in the Mediterranean Sea. And that fact alone straight away differentiates it from more swift forms of land-based transportation, such as driving by car, or even cycling. Cullen had quite the obsession with road and surface-level paving materials. Water perhaps is the most fascinating of all; a huge part of the appeal of Venice, no doubt. Unlike freeways or highways, which when sealed are areas of land that are dead forever, water is actually a living substance and teeming with aquatic animals.
Because water is a viscous fluid just like air, except hundreds of times much denser, the actual act of journeying is apt to be a lot more slow-going than on land. Hence, actually "reading" the distinct social landscape of the city becomes a lot easier than would be the case if you were car-borne. Even though your perceived sense of velocity would be to some extent influenced by the turbulence and gushing sound of the water created by the bow wave as the boat moves through the water; all part of the experience, that is. Morover, travelling on water you would be constantly subjected to little waves coming off of other boats.
The Grand Canal is, simply put, a must-see attraction in Venice; the city has always been world-renowned for its most intriguing, bucolic water-based environment. Thus, to take to the water in Venice you would get the sense that one is travelling not to get from point A to B as quickly as possible, but for an altogether deeper meaning and purpose: to undertake a spiritual and religious rite of passage; and to reaffirm the human spirit and connect with the entire city on a whole new level (hopefully).

The Grand Canal: full of life and wonder, history and humanity
Most important, this would, judging the atmospheric conditions and traffic on the day, present ample opportunities for human interaction between the traditional rafts, and people walking along the waterfront and/or crossing one of the four beautifully detailed and elaborately ornamented bridges; more so than driving in an enclosed car, cut-off from the world, that is for sure. To pass under the graceful arching bridges would be a somewhat welcome contrast to the now commonplace, mundane straight-line efficiently engineered bridges witnessed in a whole host of post-industrial cities. Once again, the purpose is not simply to bridge the gap between the two islands, but to build infrastructure for the preservation of amenity – the perceived quality of the environment around us – in essence what town planning is all about.
It would doubtless be a most pleasant journey. A gentle breeze would carry the tantalizing smells redolent of Italian cuisine along the length and breadth of the canal, whilst the lapping of water would provide an all-too-familiar whipping sensation and comfort. Whereas at midday, sunlight would illuminate the Canal, and wavelengths would reflect off of the water onto passengers in the gondolas (a traditional raft); going into the night, the buildings themselves would reflect in the shimmering water, all in all putting on a stunning water spectacle for those involved. At dusk, the warm, cozy lights from the houses on the water's edge would literally light up the night sky, and, depending on cloud cover, reflect back down onto the city's remarkable building vernacular, as a result creating an ambient atmosphere unparalleled by anything else.
In addition, and by definition, the Grand Canal is mostly of a relatively narrow build throughout, and this by sheer luck adheres to one of Cullen's rigorous principles. (Cullen was a firm believer in downsized, narrow, curved pre-industrial streets as found in Medieval German cities, for instance.) But perhaps the most important insight comes from the reduced speed limit and therefore implied lack of high-performance motorized vehicular traffic such as reckless jet skis, consequently increasing perceived sense of security and safety on the water.
Image 3 The beautiful vista of the Grand Canal is cast aglow romantically so by the reflections of city lights onto the iconic and intricate Rialto Bridge. The image highlights how cities take on an altogether different mood, vibe, feel, character or atmosphere – call it what you will – at night.Image 3 The beautiful vista of the Grand Canal is cast aglow romantically so by the reflections of city lights onto the iconic and intricate Rialto Bridge. The image highlights how cities take on an altogether different mood, vibe, feel, character or atmosphere – call it what you will – at night.
Image 3 The beautiful vista of the Grand Canal is cast aglow romantically so by the reflections of city lights onto the iconic and intricate Rialto Bridge. The image highlights how cities take on an altogether different mood, vibe, feel, character or atmosphere – call it what you will – at night.
Image 3 The beautiful vista of the Grand Canal is cast aglow romantically so by the reflections of city lights onto the iconic and intricate Rialto Bridge. The image highlights how cities take on an altogether different mood, vibe, feel, character or atmosphere – call it what you will – at night.

Breathtaking, Impressive Feats of Architecture
What is more, the Canal takes on a curved reverse S meander, and as a consequence the journey in and of itself becomes a natural experience – "a sequence of revelations" with changing focal points as opposed to travelling in a strict, boring straight line that would in fact render the Canal more akin to a quick and convenient man-made waste depository (as was customary in Medieval cities). The meander also prolongs the experience by increasing surface area and reserves the element of surprise – having the opportunity to cast one's outlook in different directions is what makes the journey entertaining and exciting.
Of course, venturing further along the Canal from Royal Gardens at St Mark's Square you would pay witness to the dense, still intact traditional façade as well as small cottage-style houses painted in bright, primary colours, overall adding a nice personalised touch and flourish, not to mention a unique sense of place, to the Canal. Indeed, the rich, illustrious history and flamboyant, astonishing feats of Venetian Gothic landscape architecture that ooze mystique and a hidden breathtaking beauty would be pretty hard to miss even by the most casual of observer. At this stage in the journey, at the half-hour mark, say, you would have broken the ice and struck up an old-fashioned face-to-face conversation with your present company.

Image 4 The monumental proportions and majestic beauty of the imposing focal point/landmark Baroque church Santa Maria della Salute bound to be a good conversation starter (Planetware 2017).Image 4 The monumental proportions and majestic beauty of the imposing focal point/landmark Baroque church Santa Maria della Salute bound to be a good conversation starter (Planetware 2017).
Image 4 The monumental proportions and majestic beauty of the imposing focal point/landmark Baroque church Santa Maria della Salute bound to be a good conversation starter (Planetware 2017).

Image 4 The monumental proportions and majestic beauty of the imposing focal point/landmark Baroque church Santa Maria della Salute bound to be a good conversation starter (Planetware 2017).

Even further on down the canal you would inevitably pass by – or drop into – the Ca' Venier dei Leoni, a contemporary-style art gallery that includes works by some of the very best artists in history: Pablo Picasso, Jackson Pollock, and, and, and… (Planetware 2017). The building further adds to the diversity of buildings along the canal.Even further on down the canal you would inevitably pass by – or drop into – the Ca' Venier dei Leoni, a contemporary-style art gallery that includes works by some of the very best artists in history: Pablo Picasso, Jackson Pollock, and, and, and… (Planetware 2017). The building further adds to the diversity of buildings along the canal.
Even further on down the canal you would inevitably pass by – or drop into – the Ca' Venier dei Leoni, a contemporary-style art gallery that includes works by some of the very best artists in history: Pablo Picasso, Jackson Pollock, and, and, and… (Planetware 2017). The building further adds to the diversity of buildings along the canal.
Even further on down the canal you would inevitably pass by – or drop into – the Ca' Venier dei Leoni, a contemporary-style art gallery that includes works by some of the very best artists in history: Pablo Picasso, Jackson Pollock, and, and, and… (Planetware 2017). The building further adds to the diversity of buildings along the canal.







REFERENCES

Cullen, G 1961, The Concise Townscape,
Architectural Press, Oxford.
Rogers B, Planetware 2017, Exploring the Top Attractions along the Grand Canal in Venice, Available from:
http://www.planetware.com/venice/grand-canal-i-vn-vgc.htm. [April 1, 2017].
Southworth M 2006, Reclaiming the Walkable City, Available from: https://frameworks.ced.berkeley.edu/2006/reclaiming-the-walkable-city/, [April 1, 2017].
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