The Beauty of New Urban Functions

Abstract

The paper aims to answer the question of how the aesthetic value of functions that appear as a novelty in contemporary urban space is given on the example of buildings intended for urban agriculture. Due to the fact that most of them are created as part of multi-functional facilities and constitute an extension of the existing infrastructure, the way they are shaped and the final aesthetic expression is the result of technical needs and capabilities. Natural beauty in the city has been, often by contrast, associated with the emergence of greenery, which is built spontaneously, creating principles that inspire the discovery of a perfect geometry, a harmony within each urban scale. Hence the potential for a new function, which, although its subject is nature, is nevertheless enclosed by architectural form by design. The last decade has brought the first realizations of agriculture integrated into the urban fabric and treated as an urban function, so it has not yet managed to develop its own clearly defined aesthetic. However, the influence of several basic functions from which urban agriculture originates is clearly visible in this respect, i.e. intensive agriculture, industry, housing and recreation. These aesthetics are often in contradiction, but they already give the opportunity to pick out certain directions that are supposed to ensure a harmonious combination of seemingly contradictory elements. The use of the symbolism of a place, the existing characteristic elements that bear witness to local traditions, which are transformed for the new function, and their inscription, either by contrast or continuation in the existing urban context are often used tools. This analysis is based on examples of completed complexes and buildings for which it is possible to objectively assess the premises causing a sense of harmony or disharmony on various levels of reading space – physical, symbolic or historical. The discussed examples include housing developments, industrial and logistics functions, office and exhibition space.