Criterios de diseño para el encuentro del edificio y la calle: análisis de las fachadas en planta baja y su influencia en el comportamiento de los peatones en la Av. Remigio Crespo

Abstract

This research studies the space of transition between the public and the private, in a commercial street of Cuenca, Av. Remigio Crespo Toral. The aim is to propose a design that improves the quality of public space based on the study of the influence of the edge space on people´s behavior, specifically the ground floor facades impact. The methodology was based on direct observation and was divided into three stages: the first one was the classification of the 45 avenue sections, according to four variables: rhythm, permeability, variety of uses and constructive quality. In the second stage, the people´s behavior was studied in front of five representative sections of the avenue, through the registration of the pedestrian speed and the activities of permanence. Finally, in the third stage, maps were obtained in Gis to analyze the relationship between facades and the people´s behavior.

The main results indicate that the characteristics of facades on the ground floor effectively influence the behavior of the public space users, so that the section with favorable characteristics in terms of its ground floor design has six times more diversity of activities than inactive sections. Therefore, attention to the design of these areas is decisive when planning public spaces in the city.