Shape and function in the urban design of squares

Jacob Javits Plaza, New York

Abstract

Within the different fields of architects, designers, landscape designers and urbanists, the relationship between shape and function of spaces, with the subsequent balance or prevalence of either one of the terms, has been explored and linked to definitions of modern and postmodern. The present article uses one of the
elements of urban landscape morphology, the construction-free spaces, to make a comparison between the
field of landscape architecture and the field of sculptural art, in order to discuss how the relationship between shape and function can influence the adoption of spaces for public use. This research case study is the Jacob Javits Plaza, in New York, and its urban landscape transforming process after different designs have
been implanted since 1967. The methodological procedures included reading and formal description of the
composition lines of the interventions from the redesigning of the proposals carried out at the plaza, survey
and analysis of secondary data. These were composed of texts about the square and observations made by
the designs’ authors, as well as identification of the design lines according to connections established with
the concepts stated by Rosalind Krauss, Anthony Vidler, Silvio Macedo, and Franco Panzini. The results show
that the equilibrium or imbalance relationship between shape and function in the design of construction-free
spaces, a consequence of choosing a modern or postmodern design line, has a direct impact on the semantic
appraisal of the urban landscape composition and, consequently, can influence and determine the collective
identification and adoption of public spaces by the population.