Silhouette of the city. History and basic principles

The silhouette of the city has basically a planning solution, but is visually perceived through the outline-border between the boundless sky and the "body" of the city. As noted by the famous American critic Paul Zucker, depending on the nature of this line, it seems like mobility. The game of the heights of architectural structures, the outlines of roofs, towers and pediments - all this creates a unique silhouette of the city, a kind of recognizable portrait. The rhythm of architectural structures, compositional mood associates the spirit and mood of this or that city.

Silhouettes of cities have a great influence on the perception of man. The values of the contours and verticals seem to be equivalent only in Descartes' abstract coordinate system. In reality, the horizontal is the surface along which we move in any directions. Therefore, any change is perceived and fixed by our subconscious. The horizontal surface does not have a clear direction, and the movement of the view from the starting point to the horizontal in the vertical direction is perceived very sharply. This is because the vertical causes a person to associate with some effort, is a symbol of the victory of the human mind, the so-called challenge to heaven. This is perfectly described in the biblical legend of the construction of the Tower of Babel.

Since ancient times, the vertical structure that had a special purpose, invaded the sky: dome of Christian churches, spiers and towers of Catholic cathedrals, the pyramids of Egypt, Central America, Mesopotamia and so on. It is quite natural that architectural buildings of religious and state significance should show dominance and advantage over the entire urban massif. This is how the visual silhouette of the city originated as an artistic composition.

In Europe during the Middle Ages, urban development was characterized by a constant battle of verticals. Towards the residential buildings of the townspeople towered noble families. Undoubtedly, they also had a defensive character, but they also fulfilled a symbolic role - they denoted representatives of the ruling class. Over time, this function was assumed by the cathedrals and city halls, which formed the silhouette of the city. The vector of the direction of development was based on the principle of the planetary system from these structures.

For a long time in Russia the city planning was distinguished by the subtle art of organization. Thanks to the landscape principle of the tower of the Kremlin and the cathedrals formed a harmonious silhouette of the city. We can say that the ancient architects, like sculptors, molded and gradually formed it. Growing up, new buildings seem to balance numerous buildings. For example, in Moscow, the superstructure above the towers of the Kremlin, which ends with double-headed eagles, consolidate and balance the silhouette of the city.

At present, unfortunately, in many areas of our country, the overall perception of the urban landscape is greatly damaged . The silhouette of the city is quite fragile, and the unreasonable building of not only the historical core, but also the so-called "sleeping areas" affects the visual perception of the city as a whole.