Florentine writing during the Renaissance) and Camillo Sitte. Sitte (1843-1903) was a Viennese.
artist and critic whose published work "Der Stadtebau" criticised what he perceived to be the.
disturbing urban developments of his day. The book was concerned with the architectural.
essence of urban life and had an instantaneous impact on city planning. According to Collins et al.
(1986, 20), Sitte's work has influenced the majority of writings on the subject ever since - hence.
the inclusion of his theory in this discussion.
Foremost in Sitte's philosophy is a dismay over the singularity of architectural edifices. He.
suggests the notion of "style" is something to be avoided as it is alien to the urban context, the.
process of change and the totality of the city. Writing in the late 1890s, he suggests modern.
planning is centred on the layout of street patterns or systems (which are either gridiron, radial or triangular) and hence the intention is purely technical. In response, Sitte describes "artistic.
principles" or parameters designed to ensure the spatial-temporal continuum of the urban fabric.
and assist in the integration of modern technology and development.
2.3.1 Sitte's principles of old city plans.
Sitte examined the town squares or plazas of ancient Greece and Rome, the Middle Ages and the.
Renaissance (especially Baroque) to determine the characteristics that gave these places a.
"human scale". The vast scale of city planning that was occurring even by the end of last century.
when he wrote on the topic had in Sitte's view led to the life of the common people withdrawing.
from public squares. In particular, it overlooked the unmistakable fact that "what counts . . . is the position of the spectator and the direction in which he is looking" (Sitte, 1889 - as translated by Collins and Collins, 1986: 177). His emphasis on aesthetic importance was also therefore a social.
concern. The principles he arrived at can be summarized as follows:.