Streetscape design has many influential factors. It takes a lot of creative thinking, detail-orientation, and knowledge of the surrounding areas. Not only does the creation and looks of the building matter, but it is important to look at its surroundings.
People began to ask, “how do we make an urban area seem not like a concrete jungle”? “How will these buildings look lined up next to each other in the current development”? What are things to consider when creating a new urban development”? All of these questions led to the idea of combining two very important concepts: streets and landscaping.
The History of Streetscapes
The history behind streetscapes dates back to the 1980’s. Essentially, it was the idea of bringing “landscaping” to the “streets”. People became concerned about making sure that enough trees were planted, especially in urban settings. A woman named Jane Martin, was a trendsetter for this phenomenon. A storm in 2004 came through, causing excessive flooding and sewage backup. She then was able to convince her city board to begin landscaping and planting on the city sidewalks. She did this not only to help save the planet, but to help with excessive rainwater flooding.
Another large contributor to this cause was due to the Friends of the Urban Forest, planting trees on 20th Street in San Francisco. Their sole purpose is to foster “building community, and mitigating global environmental problems through the simple act of planting and caring for trees and sidewalk gardens”.
How the Definition of Streetscapes Has Evolved
In the beginning, streetscapes simply meant urban planning that introduced landscaping. Now, that definition has started to evolve in the architectural world. It now includes not only how buildings influence its urban settings, but how any type of building looks from “the street”. This means that we are not only looking at how trees and shrubs influence the street and design. But we are also looking at how one or more buildings may affect the current development.
The Benefits of Streetscape Design
As discussed, not only does a streetscape design show what a building will look like, but how it impacts the rest of the community. This can be a large concern to the city as well as the existing community. Therefore, it is very important to get approval on such projects and in a timely manner. According to some of our clients, a streetscape rendering can help get your approval for your project weeks faster than it would without a rendering!
Urban Streetscape Design
With urban streetscape design, there is so much to consider when planning. The next time you are in a downtown area, try to name all of the things you see. There are so many factors that affect how an urban design comes together. This includes things such as signage, lighting, landscaping, and markings. It also includes factors such as materials, functions, transportation, and other local offerings.
And it does not stop there. Every one of these factors influences one another on an exponential level. For instance, the businesses you have will influence what transportation should be available. The transportation offerings affect traffic flow and what signage is needed. The street lamps affect how well civilians can see the signage, and how safe people will feel walking at night. Again, there are just so many factors to consider when building a community.
With an urban streetscape rendering, we are able to see all of these factors come into fruition. In a rendering, it is easy to showcase the desired streetscape design. It also shows any potential design flaws or concerns that may influence the city.
Residential Streetscape Design
In residential streetscape design, it starts to focus more on the residential buildings themselves. This is simply where you will see two or more houses next to each other. In the rendering, a customer will be able to see multiple things. They will see how close the houses will be next to each other, the curb appeal, and other existing factors such as landscaping and the sidewalk. This gives the client a more realistic perspective rather than only seeing a single residential rendering of the building.
Residential streetscapes are very useful for developers as they are usually building a community of more than just one residence. These streetscape renderings have the ability to showcase all the different types of buildings they may be constructing. Especially if the buildings differ from one another, such as single family homes across the street from multi-family homes.
Commercial Streetscape Design
As for commercial streetscape design, it will include a lot more as it tends to be on a much larger scale. Commercial streetscape renderings include the buildings in which the developer is focused on, as well as the surrounding buildings. For instance, this may be the business park it is situated in, or the downtown area surrounding it, or the entire residential community.
For example, below you can see that this developer wanted to not only capture the apartment building. They also wanted to capture the street, sidewalk, landscaping, and other buildings in the area. This provides a more detailed perspective to the viewer. It also shows an even more realistic view of how the building will look in the existing city.
We Specialize in Streetscape Design
No matter the streetscape design, Masitects is able to provide high-quality renderings and top-notch service. We have been providing streetscape designs to clients over the past few years and are very confident that we would honor your vision as our client.
You can start today by calling us or submitting an inquiry. It is free to get a quote and you will get an estimate back in less than 24 hours!
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