Urban City Life

Urban Architecture

Urban architecture is a complicated commodity which changes depending on the whim of the owner, the feel of the street, the opinions of several architects and designers, and even the restrictions of the government. Whilst one street may contain plain prefabricated high-rises, the next street over may have a listed stretch of Tudor-era half-wooded two-storey houses. A street further and you may find yourself amongst modern glass sky-scrapers or Art Deco inspired apartment blocks. This diversity is the very nature of urban architecture, and as such it is important that home owners, architects, interior designers, landscapers, town planners and council officials understand that they are all important facets of the creative process that eventually jumbles together to make up a ‘city’.

Of course, each city is unique and is a victim of climates, historical trends and building innovations. While rural architecture has a much slower evolution, urban architecture can change at the blink of an eye. World travellers will tell you that cities in Japan are incredibly different architecturally to cities in South Africa; just as buildings in London are very different to buildings in Rio. This is what makes urban architecture so exciting – the huge variety in the exterior and interior designs. From bricks to glass, wood to cement, paper to steel, no urban area is the same. Fortunately architects and designers are trained to be familiar with specific urban spaces and trends in every individual city. If you are planning a construction or renovation project in Manchester or London, for example, there should be specialist firms in these cities that are aware of the local planning requirements and designs.