public realm – Samar Hechaime

Urban Factorisation Findings Report

lorilara66 — Mon, 06 Oct 2014 14:02:55 +0000

The summer is over, as we are reminded by the drop in temperatures and the wet window panes, and it is time to get bring the experiences and explorations gained under the sun back into perspective and use what we learned while having fun.

Just before the summer holidays factors held the #UrbanFactorisation Launch event on the 21st of July. The event took place at The Work Foundation and was supported by the NCUB, the London Fusion and the European Union @NCUBtweets @Londonfusion The event brought the factorisation methodology and the human factors front and centre into our cities through the talks and walk that happened on the day. In the morning we had a wonderful panel of speakers including Barry Sheerman MP @BarrySheerman, Ben Bummer MP @ben4ipswich Cathy Garner, Philip Ternouth, Ann Marie Aguillar and Samar Héchaimé. The afternoon walk was an urban factorisation lab around the St James’ park area with the attendance taking part in a user immersion workshop, showcasing one of the toolkits in the methodology.

It was an amazing event that was described by the attendees as entertaining and enlightening.

In this post you can download the Urban Factorisation Findings report that came out of the event. It contains the original manifesto, the event description, as well as the findings and the recommendations that came out of the afternoon walk/ workshop. This methodology is not restricted to urban settings but can be applied in workplaces and environments, healthcare, education spaces and all kinds of collaborative spaces.

factors _ urban factorisation lab findings report

The Middle East

lorilara66 — Wed, 20 Feb 2013 17:13:59 +0000

Join us at the Urban Design Group event which following on from the recent issue of Urban Design on the topic, this event will look at the latest developments in urban design in the Middle East.

Speakers include:

Farnaz Arefian – academic based at UCL, topic editor of issue 124 on The Middle East and convenor of recent International Conference at UCL on Urban Change in Iran. Farnaz will provide an introduction to the event plus an overview of Iranian urbanism including its origins, the influences of culture, climate and place and the challenges of the twenty-first century global economy.

Steven Hancock & Daniel Horner, Urban Designers from Dar Al Handasah, on the experiences of working in the Middle East, drawing comparisons with the UK and Europe.

Samar Héchaimé, Lead Factorisor at Factors, discussing the human factor in design. Samar will look at how we can redefine the design process through an understanding of human behaviour, with specific examples from the Middle Eastern context.

Location: The Gallery, 70 Cowcross Street, London EC1M 6EJ

Date: Tue, 26/02/2013 – 6:30pm

http://www.udg.org.uk/events/middle-east

Book launch: ‘The City at Eye Level; Lessons for Street Plinths’

lorilara66 — Thu, 24 Jan 2013 15:09:08 +0000

ROTTERDAM, The Netherlands – Rotterdam/ Amsterdam- based urban planning firm, Stipo B.V., just released their new book ‘The City at Eye Level: Lessons for Street Plinths’ and will be available for free download or hard-‐copy via website on 11 January 2013. The book, a collaborative effort of five editors and 43 professional contributors from the Netherlands, Belgium, Canada, Demark, USA, UK and Germany, (including Samar Héchaimé of factors) delves deeply into the concepts, philosophy, and strategies behind planning the ground floors (“plinths”) of urban environments. Interviews, case studies, and first-‐hand stories highlight important examples of best practices from cities in the Netherlands (in particular, Rotterdam) as well as Copenhagen, Antwerp, San Francisco, and elsewhere.

This books shows that good plinths require a smart strategy supported by many players including the city, the owners, the renters and the users, and introduces a host of new vocabularly to help define this innovative planning strategy. A great city at eye level requires a strategy based on three domains: software (use, the experience, the functions), hardware (design of plinths, buildings, streetscapes, hybrid zones and principles of sustainability) and orgware (organisation of functions and portfolio maintenance). The 215- page book offers ideas, solutions and examples of the best ground floors and ground-‐level planning from cities across the world. The concluding chapter proposes 75 specific lessons for good plinths.

On 11 January, 2013, Stipo launched the book to the world in the city where it all started: Rotterdam. About 230 guests, including urban planners, entrepreneurs, housing associations, local civil servants, neighbours, and interested parties, all came together to celebrate. Hosted by several partners (EDBR, AIR, Deltametropool, Gemeente Rotterdam) the launch was open to the public and included a Plinth Safari for all guests-‐-‐parallel visits examining the best plinth planning practices in Rotterdam-‐-‐as well as a chance to meet a few of the book’s co-‐authors who were also present for the evening. John Worthington, co-‐ founder of DEGW and Director of The Academy of Urbanism in London, gave the keynote speech. He focused on how the book is relevant in an international context, in international cities.

The book is available through the publishing house Eburon and will be on bookshelves and Amazon.com in the coming weeks. It is also available for download at www.thecityateyelevel.com.