Cirkelformen i landskapet
funktionen och användningen av cirkelformen i landskapsplaneringen
The Circle is a strong form that influences the landscape. It also has symbolic value which influences our feelings and experiences. This Thesis project examines the Circles? characteristics and its significance in various connections. The goal of this Thesis is to examine what role the Circle plays in various situations and what motives there are for using it is landscape architecture.
The basis for this Thesis work is a proposal which has been drawn up for development of the rural area between the villages of Hofterup and Löddeköping in the municipality of Kävlinge. The proposal employs circular forms, and arranges urban development in the form of ring villages. Through the use of short explanations of various circular places and installations, together with an analysis of the proposal for ring villages, the Thesis provides a picture of the Circle?s principal characteristics and the influence the Circle shape has on people. The various circular forms that have been selected have been divided into the following five categories:
1. Arcs
2. Historic towns and development plans
3. Stone formations
4. Social places in parks and squares
5. Ring villages
The Circle?s function and motive varies between the different circle forms, thus providing a picture of the characteristics each form has in different situations. In connection with their use in planning and design it is important to know what the user is trying to achieve with the form.
It is often aesthetically pleasing to use circular forms in various planning schemes in a way which cannot always be appreciated at ground level. What often determines the sense of experience once the proposal is implemented, is what elements constitute the third dimensional boundaries. How these boundaries are designed determines how the place affects the people who are inside, outside or merely passing through a circle.
Results show, amongst other things, that the Circle form can function admirably as an inviting meeting place at the same time as it represents a classic defensive shape. In most cases the conceived function of the Circle determines how it is best sited in the landscape and what communication there is with its surroundings. Circle positioning varies depending on the different types of circle forms described, and ranges from monumental places and islands in a landscape, to open spaces or structures incorporated into a compact urban fabric.
One of the main advantages of circles is their ability to assemble or concentrate people. This means that circles have a strong outer border. This ability creates a strong communal atmosphere and adhesion amongst those within the circle. However, the disadvantage of these characteristics is that someone outside the circle experiences the complete opposite. The Circle form is therefore easy to appreciate and often contributes to a clear boundary where one is either inside it or outside.