Industrial city (Garnier) &

Amsterdam Zuid Plan (Berlage)

Mercedes Delgado Martnez

A00568186, March 09 2016, Urban Theories, Instituto Tecnolgico y de

Estudios Superiores de Monterrey Campus Len

Index
Introduction
Pg. 3
The industrial revolution: the background
Pg. 3
Tony Garnier: the man behind the theory
Pg. 4
Cit Industrielle: the concept
Pg. 6
Amsterdam Zuid: Berlages plan
Pg. 11
Conclusion
Pg. 12
Bibliography

Pg. 14

The industrial revolution was another of those extraordinary jumps forward in the
story of civilization Stephen Gardiner while the architect was not wrong by
saying this, the industrial revolution was indeed a step forward when talking about
inventions and somehow economical growth. Also it helped develop a lot of urban
theories known nowadays, two of them being Tony Garniers Industrial City and
Berlages Amsterdam zuid plan.

Through this essay Garniers urban plan will be analyzed starting from its
background and ending with its reaches. Amsterdam Zuid plan will be analyzed as
a collateral effect of the industrial revolution and thought of as an industrial city
expansion. The way that industrialization changed the world can not only be seen
in a factory, these changes are seen in our streets, our thoughts, our clothes and
even our buildings. Without it new materials, like steel, would not be used today.

The industrial revolution: the background

Beginning in Great Britain in the late 1700s the industrial revolution was a period
during which agrarian and rural societies in Europe and America became industrial
and urban. This period of Industrialization marked a shift to powered, specialpurpose machinery, factories and mass production. For many people in upper an
middle class things went up but of the lower classes things went downhill.However
not only the industry changed, the landscape of the cities was altered forever,
though many changes were for the better; more machines, more production,
increased volume and variety of manufactures goods, there were many things that
changed for the worst.

The living conditions during this time were terrible. Due to the fact that a lot
of people was leaving the countryside to look for jobs in the city the population in
those was very, very high. This over-population problem and an unrestricted urban
growth led to slum housing, dirt, disease and a lack of communal green spaces
within the city landscape. But it was because of these problems that urban planning
as we know today arose in response to this disorder. The main objective at the time
was the reformation of these areas according to planners, who began to impose
regulatory laws establishing standards for housing, sanitation etc. it was urban
planners the ones who also introduced parks, playgrounds, in city neighborhoods,
public spaces, among other things. The concept of dividing the city in different
zones (zoning) was a major concept of urban planning at this time.

Img. 1 A huge amount of people were working at the factories, this image shows
only one textile industry, but all of them were this crowded. If factories were

like this one can only imagine how crowded the city was and the sanitary
conditions in them.
Tony Garnier: the man behind the theory
Tony Garnier was born in Lyon, France in 1869. Lyon was a city known for its
industrial centre for metallurgy and textiles, which were part of his inspiration for it
is clear that the city and surroundings had a great influence on him. He studied
architecture at the cole nationale des beaux-arts de Lyon (1886-89) and the cole
nationale suprieure des Beaux-Arts in Paris (1890-99). It was during the year of
1899 that he won the Prix de Rome for designing a national bank. By winning this
prize he was able to live in Italy for four years at the Villa Medici, the place were he
started to write out his proposal for the industrial City. He first sent out his proposal
in 1901 but the people at the cole refused to exhibit his work, he then kept on
working on it but with more traditional aspects, which was exhibited in 1904. After
his work was exhibited he continued developing a greater solution for the current
issues on urban planning, and finally his work was published in 1917 called Une
cite industrielle.
Many urban planners used Garniers designs and concept; his theory was sort of
like the basic principles of urban planning. After living in Italy he stayed in France
where he designed some public buildings in his native city along with
neighborhoods before the war started, although his most important work is Cit
Industrielle. He died in 1948 in Roquefort-la-Bdoule.

Img. 2 In this sketch of an aerial view of Garniers industrial city the center can be
seen. In this rea the public space was located, along with the residential
rea which is designed as a wide rectangle.
Cit Industrielle: the concept
Garniers proposal for an industrial city had a lot of influences and some
resemblance to Howards Garden city, they both believed that their cities could form
a federation of cities that would create bonds through communication and an
exchange of goods. The theory of regionalism is included in his work through the
federations and the good exchange although it is not quite conformed with a
socialist thought so it is not completely included. Individual initiative is not stressed
in his proposal, property is owned in common and public conveniences are
maintained for benefit of all.

The basic idea was this; an industrial city of approximately 35,000

inhabitants, although it was not quite established it was located on an area in the
south of France on a plateau with high land and a lake to the north, a valley and
river to the south; the water being really important because it was to be used for
power. The sites location was really important not only because of the water but it
needed to have accessibility for transportation and a site for a dam since it was
provided with natural energy production, which in this case is hydroelectric power.
Also it is important to mention that the new city would be located in an old small
city.

The city was divided in a regular way but not in a symmetrical way, not all
the streets are lined up equally. The zoning principle was applied in his theory; the
city was divided into different zones, each dedicated to a different activity regarding
its purpose. The four zones were: Work, housing, health, and leisure. These zones
were clearly related but they were separated by location and patterns. Generally
speaking the lots were long, narrow and they were located on an east-west
orientation originating at the railway station, buildings were separated by wide open
spaces, the streets were wide to allow pedestrians to have enough space for
walking, houses had a garden each and some had roof gardens. Even though
Garnier did not specified a material for the buildings concrete was mostly used for
public buildings, as well as brick and glass. The use of these materials was
because they would allow an open plan, roof terraces large windows for natural
light and ventilation. Just like in Howards proposal streets were lined with trees.

Img. 3 This is the layout of Garniers City four main areas can be seen (the
residential area is not specified): Industry, hospitals, old town, and railway
station. Apart from those 4 there are 8 more: 1: old town, 2: central station,
3: Residential area, 4: City center, 5: Elementary schools, 6: Professional
Schools, 7: Health area, 8: City station, 9: Industrial area, 10: Industrial
Station, 11: Cemetery, and 12: slaughterhouse
The industrial area is located in the plateau and near the dam and
hydroelectric plant; which provided the city with essential energy. The main industry
is metallurgy since the nearby mines supply the raw material. The factory
produces: steel rods, metal, wheels and agricultural tools. The industry is made up
of blast furnaces, steel mills, workshops for large presses and hammers, ship
dockyard, and vehicle testing tracks. The industrial area, as well as all areas has a
lot of surrounding land so it can grow according to its needs.

Img. 4: This is the representation of Garniers industrial area, the factory can
be seen as well as the dam at the back of the drawing.

The residential area was made up of 150x30 meters rectangular blocks, these
block gave the city its elongated form, each block was divided into 15x15 meter lots
with a street facing side he thought that by dividing it this way there would be a
better land use. The residence could not occupy more than 50% of the land for this
area was to be used for pedestrians and public spaces, also each room in the
house must have a south facing window to bring natural light into the space.
Garnier was one of the first architects to think about energy efficiency, thats why
natural ventilation and natural lightning were very important. The layout of the
residential area was important because the public space allowed pedestrians to
walk along the city in any direction; also the space between each house prevented
one building to shadow the other. Although schools are not residential places they
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were located inside the residential area so they could be near the houses and
within walking distance, those are the primary schools for kids up to 14 years, the
high schools were located in the northeastern part of the city. The streets in this
area were also lined with trees as well as the residential lots, which needed trees.

Img. 5: as mentioned in the paragraph above a block can be seen, the lot division
is not visible but it can somehow be seen because the houses area
represented. All is lined with trees and the space between the houses is
clearly there. Garnier had it all planned out.

The health area was located on the north part of the city, near the mountains
so it could protect the area from cold winds as well as a section of trees planted on
a E-W axis. The health section was divided into four main parts: the hospital, the
heliotherapy establishment, the contagious diseases hospital and a disabled
persons asylum. The main hospital would have 715 beds to treat patients.

The last zone was the leisure one, where administration-public buildings
were located. This was also divided into three groups: administrative services and

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assembly halls, museum, public buildings for sports and entertainment. This whole
concept was located in the center of the city. The administrative services and
assembly halls area was a building in which the city council and all administrative
services were located, each service had public rooms, committee rooms, offices,
agencies. Another building for offices where all organs of the city were located, a
third building was destined for laboratories and a last fourth where the
administrative files were. The assembly hall had a capacity of 3000 people with
continuous access, there were also 3 amphitheaters the biggest on with a capacity
of 1000 and two small ones with a capacity of 500 people. In this area was also a
clock tower, which indicated the center of the city.

The museum group was a museum that holds historical collections,

important documents with archeological, artistic or industrial relevance. The area
surrounding the museum was destined for botanical gardens and monuments. The
library was located near also, and it consisted of a big reading room and 2 areas
one for books and another for newspapers and images. The last group is the public
buildings for sports and entertainment. A theater and entertainment hall was
located here, with a capacity of 1900 people. Also a circular amphitheater existed.
There were public gyms and a pubic bath with heated and non-heated pools. There
were playgrounds, tennis, football and some other courts. There were also training
tracks for bicycles and runners, these were bordered by grassy terraces and
screened by trees for sunlight protection.

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Img. 6 This is the section of the railway station were the main levels are the public
areas at street level, the roads are on the basement along with waiting
rooms. The public areas are located here so the rest of the city is free of tall
structures.
Finally the railway station, which is not a specific area but it is still very
important because that is the way the city is connected to other cities and also
within itself. There are three railway stations, the main station, the industrial station
and the city station. The areas were the station was located held hotels,
department stores, and markets in order to have a little more order inside the city.
The railway station connected the whole city and it has public services at the level
of the streets, the roads are in the basement and are served by the platforms.

Amsterdam Zuid: Berlages plan

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Though not particularly related Amsterdam Zuid plan was developed as a side
effect of the industrial revolution in The Netherlands. Amsterdam has a big
problem: it is located bellow sea level so in order to increase the size of the city
many technical problems have to be solved first, thats why in the beginning of the
XX century a lack of houses became a problem, the population increased but not
the amount of homes built. Berlage was the one who took the job, his first proposal
was rejected because it did not cover all the new laws that had been recently
developed.

Up until that day the city had been growing in a concentric way which
Berlage completely broke and started working with another layout. His layout is
more geometrical and also symmetrical, the axis converged on the important
buildings. He used clean lines, and had an honest use of materials; specially brick
which was the distinctive material of the Amsterdam School. The area built by
Berlage can be separated by the old city with the Amstel Canal.

In his plan urban spaces were determined by street elevations, it consisted

also of grand avenues, squares, the height of the trees and buildings, and
monumental buildings. There were two main axes on the area: one aimed to a
skyscraper and the other aimed to the new railway station. Due to the fact that the
same material was used on the area it could be thought of as monotonous, but with
the squares, and its monumental layout on finds that the area has continuity more
than monotony. Actually to this day Amsterdam Zuid is one of the areas of the city
that has more public life, this can be due to the streets and public spaces for
people to be in.

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Img. 7 as it can be seen the layout of Amsterdam Zuid is a little bit more
symmetrical and has a grid like structure compared to the rest of the city.
Berlage wanted to differentiate the area from the previous expansion plan.
Conclusion
As it can be seen these two things are completely different if looked at just
quickly but if we pay attention to them they are more related than we are lead to
believe. Starting with Garniers industrial city a new development for the big
changes that were happening in France due to the industrial revolution, a change
that was the migration of people from the country to the cities which was also what
happened in Amsterdam and what made the government decide on a plan to
increase the citys size.

Another important aspect is that in both cases the public space is taken into
consideration, something that was not so important in previous ages. Public space
is very important because it gives the population a place to be, a place to

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communicate, and experience the city. The rich people had the opportunity to go to
the theater, the opera, and that kind of events, but those who couldnt afford it had
the public spaces to go to. Also an important aspect of this was the fact that trees
became important again, they realized that they were needed for city life.

In conclusion the effects of the industrial revolution were seen many, many
years after it ended and even if people think that bad things came out of it, because
many bad things did came out of it; the good things are the ones that have to be
looked at because if it werent for that urban planning would never have had that
much importance since it was because of it that most urban planners started to
develop their theories or even the cities themselves.

Bibliography:

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http://utopies.skynetblogs.be/archive/2008/12/09/tony-garnier-1869-1948-la-citeindustrielle.html
Supriya Pundlik. (2010). Tony Garnier: Une Cite Industrielle (1917). March 1st 2016
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