Palace Square St Peters burg:

This Square is surrounded  by different classic buildings. There are huge gapes between buildings plus a high and big arch as the location of entrance and a high column in the centre of it.Unlike most of the squares which are rectangular,Palace square do not have certain shape and the only elements in square are column and pavement.There are no benches and trees in square maybe because this square in the past was a place to gather people for certain events.The square is shaped by 3 long buildings around it.The important thing about this square is the sense of overwhelming that caused by the height and length of buildings,entrances and column .

http://en.wikipedia.org

 

 Nomba Parks Osaka:
Nomba Parks is located In Osaka,one of the most dense and populated cites of Japan. This 8 storey structure consisted of shopping mall with a theatre and different restaurants,and roof park which combined with a tower. Inside of the structure there is an open void that shops an restaurants are located there. This open void is like desert canyons in America which is combined with glass and few vegetation s. There are sky ways that connect two sides of void and an elevator that make the connecting between different storeys and roof park. The roof park is defined in different level and in each level different shops and restaurants are accessible. Generally this park is an  interesting combination of  different functions. People can spend hours in this park to do different activities. Although most of the shopping malls have these features, the roof park which is defined in different levels and the open void and the combination of this structure with tower make it distinguished.

http://bigpicture.ru

http://architecture-view.com

http://www.danhartfordphoto.com

Port of Nagoya:
Nagoya is one of the most populated cities in Japan. The port of the Nagoya is located at south of the city. The aquarium of Nagoya , terminal and sea food restaurant are located around the port. There is a pedestrian bridge that connects the terminal to aquarium. This area do not have enough planting. The walkway around of the port is too vast with out special design for pavement. Although there are some simple benches for seating the walkways seems empty. The design of the bridge seems better when someone walk on it. But from the walkways on the port it is a simple structure. The only things that can could draw attention are the aquarium and terminal building with curve design. Generally this port have potential to become more alive.

https://plus.google.com

Manhattan high line:
In 1930s elevated rail line was built in Manhattan. In order to provide goods for manufactures , there were stations inside the manufactured buildings. The railway was elevated to be safe for pedestrians and cars. But after a while manufacture disappeared from Manhattan and the rail station remained unused. In 2000s the city decided to chang it to elevated park. Today most part of the park have been constructed. The elements of the park are included different planting, pavement and benches. Designers kept some  of the rail way. The shape of some part of elevated rail line have been changed. As people walk in the park they experience different spaces. In some parts of park high rise building are closer but in other part the gap between building and park is further. Sometimes park crosses inside a high rise building. High line park have a good view to river,streets and high rise buildings, however in other parts it has view to parking lots and roof of other buildings. Totally it can be seen that this structure is successful now. large amount of people come to this park every day and it makes them to walk long distant in the city.

http://www.nycgovparks.org

 

Source:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_W2Yq1zzxAc#t=146

http://www.geograph.org.uk

Finsbury Avenue Square:

Finsbury Avenue Square is located in London and surrounded by 8 storeys office buildings. LED lights in pavement of this square  makes it distinguished. Other elements such as trees,Sculpture and benches

http://www.panoramio.com

http://www.panoramio.com

help to shape the square and complete it. Different colours in lighting makes people to feel different about the space in different times. Except LED lighting on the floor there are not special lighting around it and the most emphasis were on the LED lighting. Commercial buildings around the square have glazed facade which can reflect the light and make it more interesting.People can seat on benches and watch the lighting or walk on LED. This is how This square engage and attract people. In day time there is no colourful lighting and it does not seem to attract people at that time. 

 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_JWySNfEhHc

La Ramble, Barcelona:

La Ramble is a street in Barcelona that connect Catalonia plaza to the sea coast. Every year this street attract large number of tourist and local people. It has a wide walkway in the middle and two narrow street in both side of it. The wide walkway is filled with benches,Classic street lights, kiosks, restaurant`s table and chairs, tall trees, pedestrian and artists activities. In two side the street there are mixed use classic buildings that are included stores,hotel and restaurants and residential settlements and etc. These kind of varieties and activities draw people`s attention and make this street attractive for pedestrians. Furthermore encourage people to walk long distance to reach the sea coast. Although pedestrian activity is high in this street, it is not completely pedestrain friendly. The grand flour of buildings are mostly filled with stores and restaurants. Because of this pedestrians from wide walkway, try to cross the street to reach stores and restaurants. This could be dangerous because the volume of traffic is usually high in there. Another problem is about the kiosks that are located in the wide walkway.They block the view for pedestrians and motor vehicles that could be dangerous and make the street scape less interesting from appearance point of view.

http://www.travelblat.com

google map

http://bikefriendlyoc.org

Urban podium in Rotterdam:
This modern podium is located in on side of a square that is srrownded by residential appartments,Saint Laurens cathedral and Delfsevaart canal. I saw the pictures before this podium and notice that this area was so dull, boring and there were no special activities (Figure 1 and 2). It seems that city built this podium to make this area more vital. This simple structure is a stage for performance and  define the square with other buildings. Two side of it is open, therefore it can not reduce the view to canal an church whether there is performance or not. Other people in residential areas also could watch performance from their places. At nights because of the lighting it can draw more attention to itself but in days it does not seem to be attractive and the gray color makes it worst. Furthermore the confliction between this modern structure and old church from certain views is interesting. In general this structure can help to increase activity in this area.

Google Map (Figure 1)

Google Map (Figure 2)

http://architype.org

http://europaconcorsi.com