Master of Science in Urban Design
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Browsing Master of Science in Urban Design by Subject "ARCHITECTURE - Dissertation"
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- item: Thesis-Full-textThe Changing place sensibility of an arterial neighbourhood: case study - Duplication road, Bambalapitiya(2022) Fonseka MM; Dharmasena JThe creation of a secondary arterial connection parallel to but less significant than Galle Road, in the late seventies cut through the Colombo suburbs of Kollupitiya and Bambalapitiya, breaking neighbourhood connections and dividing families. Unlike Galle Road, this second artery had no associated spaces or services that could help build its urban character or its edge condition, it cut through the urban fabric without regard for what was on either side. Even its name suggested its duplication of function rather than amenity. Another road running parallel – Marine drive was introduced subsequently along the coast also to take the load of the traffic in Galle Road. This dissertation proposes to study how a second sub-arterial road, Duplication Road, introduced in the early 1970’s has impacted the forms of neighbourhood character sustained by the urban relationships that were formative for Bampalapitiya’s Place-Sensibility.
- item: Thesis-AbstractCritical analysis of the relationship between crime, safety and the physical environment in new low-income, high-rise housing in Colombo(2022) Sumanadasa KHM; Dharmasena JIn Sri Lanka after year 2000, Many Low-income, high- Rise housing developments have being built to reclaim some of the scenic places in the city and to satisfy the housing demand for the growing Urban population. These houses are mainly concentrated in the north and east of Colombo metropolitan area. Due to the high concentration of low-income houses in these areas, and poor maintenance etc., these LIHRHs have developed a stigma. Most number of Crime Incidents of the city are also reported from these areas. Due to these Many residents who can afford it, move out of these newly built LIHRH worsening the situation due to these vacant premises been rented by gang leaders and drug lords. In the past Internationally, due to such problems, many such housing developments were demolished. Extensive research work and theories were also developed in other countries as to how to avoid such crime breeding grounds in housing developments. Of these defensible space by Oscar Newman is the most accepted and widely adopted in controlling crime via environmental design. He discusses how this can be achieved under four main categories. First is via increasing territorial control by residents over their premises, second by increasing the natural surveillance of residents over their premises, third by improving the image of the housing development and thereby attracting users of higher income categories to the area and fourth how the proximity to safe places can increase the safety of the LIHRH. Jane Jacobs and some others theoreticians have also talked about different aspects that contribute towards reducing crime in housing schemes such as the presence of children playing in sidewalks and shops that keep natural surveillance over the streets in a neighborhood. As a measuring tool for Crime occurrences and safety levels in selected case studies four main headings of Territoriality, Natural Surveillance, Image and proximity to safe and non-safe places were adopted. Under these other 29 subcategories were utilized to measure crime and safety levels in the case studies. Using these, Objectives of the study are to see whether there is a relationship between built form and crime in Sri Lankan context and if there is to see what can be done to the built form and the environment to reduce the crime rates and increase the safety in LIHRH. iii Selected three case studies are Muwaduru Uyana, Sirimuth Uyana and Randiya Uyana. Ninety residents from the 3 case studies answered a questionnaire and drew mind maps of safe and unsafe areas of their LIHRH in the given maps. There were interviews of residents, UDA officials and police personnel and photographic survey was also conducted see how the three case studies fared in terms of the four developed main categories for crime and safety. In addition to these, a cartographic analysis was also carried out about the nature of built form. Crime data relating to the three case studies were obtained from the relevant police stations. Police data indicated that Muwaduru Uyana was highest in crime second is Randiya Uyana and Sirimuthu Uyana had a smaller number of crimes. Sirimuthu Uyana was considered as the safest by residents. Survey observations also supported this data. Therefore, it was concluded that a. When the territoriality, Natural surveillance of the residents increases over their premises and image of the improves and LIHRH is located in proximity to safe areas crime decreases –Inversely Proportional relationship b. When the territoriality, Natural surveillance of the residents increases over their premises and image of the improves and LIHRH is located in proximity to safe areas Safety Increases –Proportional Relationship Based on survey findings, possible improvements to the built form and surroundings of the three existing case studies and future recommendations to adopt in LIHRH were proposed under the four main categories of Territoriality, Natural Surveillance , Image and proximity to safe and non-safe areas. Under these 4 categories, 33 recommendations were proposed.
- item: Thesis-Full-textImpact of uniform commercial development on a street and its effect on the street character(2022) Medagama RMDB; Dharmasena JThe quality of most Commercial Streets in cities are negatively affected by the lack of open areas and urban spaces. The streets and its activities when unplanned, are an unpleasant built space to urbanity. This impacts the maintenance of a good built environment and a quality urban life. Therefore, a well-functioning, pleasant urban landscape which maintains the disciplines required of a commercial development is important. This study investigated how to assess the impact of uniform commercial development on the urban streetscape and the effect of physical street characters. The study explored street characters generated by uniform commercial activities in selected urban streets. Usage qualities, spatial qualities of existing Commercial Streets were tested in this study, using three case studies similar in scale, but differing in location and physical characteristic in the Colombo district. Quantitative and qualitative characters were considered for this study, while data collection was done via self-study, questionnaires and interviews. Each Street has its own unique characters due to its physical qualities. By evaluating these physical Street characters and its activities, it is possible to identify what is the most uniform character. Street qualities of attractiveness, permeability, visibility, legibility, human scale and safety, which utilize street elements of furniture, lamps, sidewalks, etc.; further help to produce a distinct quality. These components facilitates social interactions, creates a comfortable atmosphere and highlights the character of the street. This ultimately affects the atmosphere of the town, which are identified by characteristics such as activeness/dead, plan/unplanned, cosiness and uniqueness. The street characters which are generated from uniform commercial development has a stronger character than a general commercial street
- item: Thesis-Full-textImpact on public realm by urban intensification of privately owned public buildings(2022) Cooray BDN; Dharmasena JThe public Realm is a place where anyone can access, interact physically despite of their economic social circumstances, it is the location where individuals interact physically. As a result, pedestrian walkways, parks, streets, squares, as well as signage and street furniture, are all included in the context. Privately Owned Public Buildings, spaces dedicated to public use enjoyment and which are owned and maintained by private property owners. Urban Intensification, Development that allows for more people to connect with in the existing urban area. The study will analyze the impact on public realm by urban intensification of privately owned public building. whether the privately owned public building has a positive or a negative impact for the urban user and its vicinity.
- item: Thesis-Full-textA Perception of architects' & urban designers' on impact of outdoor advertisement on visual pollution; an evidence from Nugegoda, Sri lanka.(2022) Dedo BAS; Dharmasena JToday, Sri Lanka is moving towards developments of high urbanization this also leads to highly commercialized streetscape. In further Nugegoda, Sri Lanka is one of the envisioned Major Urban Centre within the Colombo Metropolitan Area for 2035. The rapid haphazard commercial development also leads to question the impact of Outdoor Advertisements on Visual Pollution within this context. However, Architects and Urban Designers are the professionals who define the streetscape and the image of the city. Therefore, this study focused on finding the impact of Outdoor Advertisements on Visual Pollution from the perceptions of Architects’ and Urban Designers’. The study area divided in to 44 surveyed points and photo-based web survey conducted to check the perception of the convenience population sample of 100 numbers of a mixture of Architects and Urban Designers on; appearance of the street (as), number of Outdoor Advertisements in the street (na) and appearance of the Outdoor Advertisements in the street (aa) based on these independent variables the dependent variable of Surveyed Visual Pollution Score constructed with Statistical Package of Social Sciences (SPSS 26). The Surveyed Visual Pollution Score measured for each 44 points and Surveyed Visual Pollution Map was produced using ArcGIS Geostatistical Analyst to make kernel interpolation. The study findings show that; the area near the main node of the study area becomes the highest visually polluted area and pollution are decreasing with the distance away from the main node. Additionally, the Surveyed Visual Pollution Map shows that there is positive relationship with Surveyed Visual Pollution Score and the hierarchy of the roads. A higher number of 38 out of 100 respondents strongly agree to place OAs in the Streetscape. A higher percentage of 46.7% respondents perceive OAs as means of Visual Pollution. The second highest percentage of 24.1% respondents perceive OAs effects the Image of the City. A higher percentage of 34.9% respondents prefers to have virtual and social media advertising rather OAs. The highest number of respondents (30 out of 100 respondents recommended) recommended to premise the area ratio of OAs to building façade of 1/8 : 1. Moreover, another 25 out of 100 respondents recommended to premise the area ratio of OAs to building façade of 1/16 : 1.
- item: Thesis-Full-textWaterfront developments and their effect on urban sense of place :(2022) Rajakaruna AU; Dharmasena JWaterbodies have arguably been more than simply a valuable resource for Sri Lanka and its inhabitants; they are also a significant aspect of the country's culture. A majority of the waterbodies are connected to cities or flow directly through them, and they have an impact on these cityscapes by influencing the quality of their views. With the passage of time and the extent of their development, waterfronts are frequently altered, resulting in an indirect impact on the place's identity. Many of these waterfronts have poor water quality and have not been properly integrated in terms of their recreational value and historical significance. Between individuals and places, emotional and functional factors generate meaning, resulting in a sense of place. Physical changes may transform the meaning of an area and erode this area's sense of place over time. This study aims to evaluate the affects sense-of-place and its components have on a user's perception in the setting of open spaces of Negombo's waterfronts. The goals of this study are to find physical markers, indications of functional connection, and measures of emotional attachment in order to see if deteriorating waterfronts have a detrimental impact on the public's perception of sense-of-place in Negombo. The study's findings reveal a number of aspects that impact and alter the waterfronts' functional and emotional relationships. More data demonstrates that the environment's physical qualities can improve both place identification and user pleasure. How to enhance and build linkages between persons and their environments is a fundamental concern for designers, planners and politicians. This research adds to our understanding of the human interaction with location and has crucial implications on the decision-making of urban designers, planners and administrations who want to transform their environments into better and more organised spaces.