Experimenting Proximity. The Urban Landscape Observatory

What are the best tools for assessing the quality of an urban space or landscape, in terms of social, physiological, aesthetic, and functional well-being? What features – spatial, material, or visual – can make some areas of a city welcoming, and perhaps even inspire a sense of belonging? And how do we define “landscape experience”? These are some of the questions behind Experimenting Proximity, an extensive compendium of the teaching and research experience conducted in EPFL (Construction and Conservation Laboratory) and ETHZ (Institute of Landscape Architecture) about visual representation. Authors present a new approach based upon video and experimental mapping, which deals with the notion of “physicality” and stands as the cornerstone for an improved correlation between built form, landscape and public space. All technical and theoretical aspects are developed in the book, as videos and maps can be examined in detail in the website www.experimentingproximity.net