Aesthetic aspects of the design of the courtyard space of an apartment building

Baklyskaia Larisa Evgen'evna Docent, the department of Design of Architectural Environment, Pacific National University; Educator, Khabarovsk Technological College 680035, Russia, Khabarovskii krai, g. Khabarovsk, ul. Tikhookeanskaya, 136 lb2811@mail.ru Other publications by this author     Goncharova Natalia Vladimirovna Senior Lecturer, Department of Architecture and Urban Studies, Pacific National University 680035, Russia, 610 krai, g. 610, ul. Tikhookeanskaya, 136, of. 610 natamur8@mail.ru Denisova Alisa Aleksandrovna Student, Department of Architecture and Urban Studies, Pacific National University 680035, Russia, Khabarovskii krai, g. Khabarovsk, ul. Tikhookeanskaya, 136, of. 610 alisa.denisova.2000@mail.ru

Mamontov Artem Yurievich Student, Department of Architecture and Urban Studies, Pacific National University 680035, Russia, Khabarovskii krai, g. Khabarovsk, ul. Tikhookeanskaya, 136, of. 610 20018101178@pnu.edu.ru

Context. The second half of the twentieth century is characterized by the growing process of globalization, which was perceived not only as a political or economic phenomenon, but also as a cultural phenomenon. Increasing interethnic interaction and integration across borders reduce differences between nations, causing global norms, ideas and practices that dilute local cultures.  Local traditional courtyard spaces have been replaced by modern courtyards, which are equipped the same everywhere, regardless of the climate, social, cultural characteristics of the region.

In the last few decades, high-density multi-storey buildings continue to aggravate the situation: multi-storey housing leads to psychological problems caused by the scarcity and monotony of the environment of residential areas.   It is no coincidence that programs for designing a comfortable urban environment that provide options for fulfilling various requirements of people are becoming more and more relevant at the present time. The purpose of these programs is usually to meet the needs of residents in terms of functional and socio-cultural requirements, microclimate characteristics, energy conservation, efficiency, etc. Yard spaces over the past ten years, although they have improved their physical condition, they still do not fully contribute to solving psychological problems.  And there can be many reasons for that. It is necessary to study the modern design of courtyards according to various parameters (ecological, functional and, in particular, aesthetic) in order to find out the relevance of the design of courtyards in a modern context and a possible design solution in various climatic situations.

Comfort in an urban living environment.  The definition of comfort as satisfying only material needs for the normal functioning of the human body does not reflect all facets of this concept. To reveal the essence, it is necessary to determine the types of comfort.

Ecological comfort is created due to the combination of temperature, humidity, air velocity and exposure to ambient temperature, optimal for the human body. A modern term that can more clearly explain the essence of this type of comfort is biophilia - the love of life, of all living things, genetically inherent in a person ^{[1, 2]}. In order to feel happy, people always need clean and fresh air (aeration) and a normal noise regime. An important component of the microclimate is insolation, that is, natural (solar) lighting. The duration of insolation is determined by sanitary norms and rules. And, of course, ecological comfort is determined by the availability and quality of landscape design.

Functional comfort determines the convenience of using any space. It provides protection, safety and implementation of all functional processes of human life: recreation, entertainment, contacts, etc. ^[3]. The separation of all processes of human activity in the territory is carried out by methods of functional zoning, which is implemented through landscaping, a rational set of equipment and its optimal placement on the site.

Aesthetic comfort determines a person's positive emotional attitude. This is provided by means and techniques by which the unification of all elements into a single whole for perception is achieved. Aesthetic comfort depends, first of all, on the harmony of the subject-spatial environment, on how the integrity and consistency of its elements is achieved ^{[4, 5, 6]}. Landscape design, in particular, plays an important role in creating aesthetic comfort ^{[7, 8]}.

Problem statement. The aestheticization and beautification of cities is one of the urgent problems of our time and is directly related to one of the leading types of art (architecture, sculpture, landscape design). Aestheticization solves the problems of creating a favorable living environment with providing comfortable conditions for all types of activities of the population.

The courtyard, as the most common public space, is the most important part of urban life. Its aesthetics, comfort and landscaping largely determine the appearance of the city as a whole. A yard area is a space of land belonging to one or more houses and being in common use by persons living in them. What is the value of this space? 

The house territory is the first thing we see from the window or going outside. A well—designed space means safety, functionality, leisure and aesthetics. An aesthetically well-designed space is a visually comfortable place to spend most of your life. For children, it is an opportunity to develop and explore the world. Therefore, the space surrounding children should be friendly, peaceful, pleasant for all senses, especially for primary senses (organs of sight and smell). The organization of the aesthetics of the spatial environment is a means of education, personality formation. For teenagers, the yard area is an opportunity for socialization, the formation of thoughts, principles, ideals, including aesthetic ones. For adults, the yard is an opportunity to relax and relieve tension in a comfortable environment. In other words, the yard is potentially a very strong social platform, so a lot depends on how it looks and is arranged, and whether it motivates people to leave the apartment.

Goals and objectives of the study. The study was conducted by the Institute of Architecture and Design of Pacific State University as part of the training courses "Environmental factors in Design" and "Aesthetics of Architecture and Design". The course "Environmental factors in design" dealt with the issues of ecology and functional saturation of the yard, the course "Aesthetics of architecture and design" focused on the perception of space. The interdisciplinary nature of the study allowed us to obtain a broader spatial picture and determine the interrelationships of various factors. In the course of the analysis, both pragmatic and pedagogical tasks were solved.

The first task of the study was to analyze the layout of the yard, the overall quality and condition of the selected territory from an aesthetic and practical point of view, identify positive and negative points on all points of the study, make suggestions and recommendations to improve the quality of the environment. The synthesis of architectural images and functional content has always been aimed at the practical solution of social problems. The state of the environment has an impact on the psycho-emotional state of people both positive and negative. For example, the so-called sleeping urban areas can cause depressive moods with their planning decisions or their absence at all. To solve this problem, it is necessary to pay special attention to the adjacent territories:  ensuring the good condition of the yard, its safety and comfort of staying in it.  Open, accessible spaces psychologically and subconsciously attract most people, regardless of their age. It is necessary to think over the location of sites where people could find their cozy corner, despite the accessibility of the space. Unfortunately, there are spatial restrictions in the city, which is not useful and not comfortable for people. Conversely, an attractive surrounding space can cause aesthetic pleasure in people, inspiring and admiring them. The aesthetic side of the planning solution has value, affecting our psychophysical well-being.

The second task of the study was to develop personal skills of independent creative thinking, written presentation of thoughts and study of the norms and rules of designing yard spaces. It is very important that a student – a future architect-designer - learn how to develop planning solutions based on existing realities, applying the acquired knowledge of various disciplines and synthesizing them. When exploring the public surrounding space, choosing a courtyard for development, the future designer of the environment comes to making planning decisions in order to improve the architectural and aesthetic qualities of the adjacent territory, which at first glance do not cause doubts and negation of existing properties. The student must learn how to use the existing architectural space in the project. The planning solution is based on the personal experience and interests of the architect-designer (student) and the residents of the courtyard space, so it is subjective and involves the interaction of the parties, which in turn has a positive effect on the student's acquisition of communication experience and cooperation with a potential customer. In the process of communicating with the interested party for the implementation of the project, the student records, analyzes and updates the general condition of the yard and its aesthetic properties. He identifies strengths and weaknesses and offers his own solution with proposals for architectural and aesthetic improvement of the territory ^{[9, 10]}, which in the future, in his opinion, will have a positive impact on the psychological climate of society.

Research methodology. In order to identify the relevance of the problem, an analysis of the current state of the yard territories was carried out and a comparison of data was given. The study includes an analytical part, which presents the identified characteristics of house spaces and a practical one, which contains recommendations for improving the aesthetic qualities of the courtyard environment.

For the analysis, the courtyards of apartment buildings were selected, which were initially defined as prosperous ^{[11, 12]}. The selection criteria were both objective characteristics (yards - participants and prize-winners of city competitions "The best yard") and subjective visual features ("beautiful", "cozy", "well-maintained"). The territorial boundaries of the study included the Far Eastern region (the cities of Khabarovsk, Vladivostok, Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk, Komsomolsk-on-Amur - about 80%), as well as the courtyards of metropolitan cities (Moscow and St. Petersburg) and foreign examples, which in the process of comparison allow you to expand the horizons of the surveyed territories and more objectively assess the quality of local house spaces.

The main criteria for assessing yard territories and the results of the analysis are presented in Table 1.

Table 1

The analyzed yard spaces in most cases satisfied the needs of their inhabitants in terms of a socially safe and functional environment, microclimate characteristics, energy saving, economy. They have everything you need for a yard: a recreation area, sufficient landscaping, good natural lighting, concealment from extraneous noise, security. But the analysis shows that even the best yard spaces in terms of aesthetic qualities have the following disadvantages:

1. Monotonous yard layouts based solely on typical functional zoning of the territory (quiet recreation - active recreation - children's zone - parking - green zone - pedestrian transit) are characterized by an uninteresting solution and an alien scale that does not meet regional peculiarities. At the same time, some necessary areas are often missing (for example, dog walking places).

2. The subject content (mainly urban furniture and equipment for children's play areas) is based on the use of standard options.

3. Ignoring the features of visual perception from different viewpoints (at the entrance and entrance to the courtyard, exit from the entrance, from the windows of the upper floors, "from inside" the courtyard territory).

4. Incomplete use of coloristic possibilities (most often the equipment of playgrounds plays a significant role, and the colors of fences, coverings, flower beds, etc. do not participate in the overall color composition).

5. Basic natural factors (microrelief, insolation and aeration of the yard territory) are not taken into account as a basis for creating a unique sense of place identity.

6. Artificial lighting of the yard territory is practically not used for aesthetic purposes.

7. The problem of car parking, the lack of parking for bicycles.

 Recommendations. Based on the survey of territories and the analysis of the data obtained, recommendations for improving the design are presented (Table 2).

Table 2

Conclusion s of the study

1.                 Today, many courtyards of high-rise residential buildings have turned into a stagnant, functionally and compositionally irrelevant zone, forming the oppressive nature of the outdoor living space. The area of the courtyards is not fully used, which highlights a wide range of problems related to parking lots, recreation areas and green areas. With the development of urban infrastructure, the issue of creating high-rise parking lots and separate parking lots is not being solved enough. Consequently, it is impossible to improve the aesthetic condition of the courtyards of multi-storey residential buildings if the issue of removing the car load from the courtyards is not resolved. Many areas of development are characterized by the same compositional, architectural and spatial structure, which causes discomfort in these areas. 

2.                 A modern courtyard has many characteristics in terms of supporting a sense of community, integration, and social cohesion. The design of the courtyard should provide a common open space that works as an addition to the residential units. Residential units surrounding a common courtyard have the right to control or determine the activities taking place inside it.

3.                 The environment of a residential area has a very close connection with human life and has a vital influence on the development of the city. Consequently, creating a pleasant living environment becomes a common goal. Since a residential area is not only a place to live, but also a place for residents to work, and the quality of the living environment has a significant impact on people's lives, designers should focus on aspects of meeting people's needs, including both physical and spiritual. The improvement of public spaces should always be based on a competent combination of color and geometry ^[17]. A comfortable yard should be convenient for games, recreation and work, carry positive emotions. At the same time, the creation and installation of creative art objects, the installation of non-standard small architectural forms and navigation allow you to cheer up and be a background for photos. The environment serves as a kind of "material framework" for our activities and recreation, so aesthetics with the help of visual perception forms our personality. Thus, aesthetics helps to create an environment that subsequently creates us.