Urban Morphology

Architectural history frequently extracts buildings from their physical context by categorically grouping them according to shared stylistic traits.  Urban morphology, however, addresses the dynamic interaction of buildings and their surrounding spaces.  Architectural history and geography coalesce in this emergent discipline, which aims to understand how urban space is formed and how it functions.  Urban space is revealed to be much more than a rigid agglomeration of buildings; it is a matrix of fluid relationships that simultaneously shapes and derives meaning from the evolving architectural forms, juxtapositions and social practices played out within its confines.  Buildings likewise act in dynamic relationships with each other.  This makes it clear that architecture cannot be reduced to a series of isolated monuments or visual images, and that it is vital to study buildings in their spatial contexts.

A key method of urban morphology is the typological study of buildings and designed spaces, which often involves formal analysis of architecture.  Since much of this work has been written by scholars trained in the methods of geography, it sometimes lacks acuity in the analysis of architectural forms, which it tends to treat as signs with only one signification.  In his article ‘Identity, Competition and Place Promotion in the Five Towns’ (2003), for example, Jon Stobart refers to ‘straightforward “ornaments of grandeur” such as friezes, columns, towers and domes’.  These elements form the basic vocabulary of Classicism, but like the words of a language they are subject to manipulation and do not necessarily mean the same thing in all contexts.  In fact, these elements are polysemic, and their meanings depend to a large extent upon the contexts in which they are produced and consumed.  Current work should combine the methods of urban history with the established analytical techniques of architectural history.  We must address the formation of urban environments by studying buildings in their physical context, a vital aspect of their ability to connote meaning.