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1、 INTRODUCTIONThe city skyline is a prime location for decoration. The skyline and its roofscape can be appreciated from many viewpoints. When viewed from afar the city appears in profile as a distant silhouette. The city profile is often most clearly seen from the arrival points, that is from the gr
2、eat city gateways or portals. Alternatively it may appear dramatically in view from highpoints in the surrounding landscape while from elevated positions within the city, panoramic views of roofscape are not unusual. From pavement level within the city, the skyline is appre- ciated in quite a differ
3、ent way. As the viewer moves about within the city, the roofline which encloses and encircles the streets and squares presents an ever-changing dark silhouette against the paler sky. Landmarks which may be remote from the viewer, the dome of a cathedral or the delicate spire of the local church, sta
4、nd out from, and impose themselves on, the surrounding skyline. Such landmarks perform the main decorative role in the city skyline: they are the jewels in the crown, often emblematic of the city. Mans intervention between earth and sky is a powerful image of occupation, signifying a meaningful plac
5、e in a particular localityand having distinct form which makes manifest its genius loci. The decoration of the city, and in particular its skyline, can act as a collective symbol, something that represents the city and with which the citizens can identify it testifies that a group of people share a
6、place and a time, as well as operate in close proximity with a good deal of interdepen- dence (Attoe, 1981).DEFINITIONSSkyline is a very recent term. Until the mid- nineteenth century the word skyline was a synonym for horizon, used in travel literature in reference to the meeting of sky and land (A
7、ttoe, 1981). Typical dictionary definitions are the line where earth and sky meet, the horizon and the outline of a . . . mountain range seen against the sky. Use of the word skyline in relation to buildings did not appear until the 1890s. Its new currency was directly related to a new building type
8、, the skyscraper. Maitlands American Standard Dictionary of 1891 is the first known dictionary to include the word skyscraper: the meaning given is a very tall building such as now are being built in Chicago4SKYLINE AND ROOFSCAPE6 5(Attoe, 1981). This intrusion of skyscrapers at the meeting of sky a
9、nd land necessitated a broadening of the meaning of skyline. Horizon being linear, horizontal and passive in form could not character- ize the aggressive, vertical and thrusting form of mans latest additions to the landscape. Hence skyline assumed this role and was redefined to include buildings see
10、n against the sky. Roofline for the purpose of this book refers to more local condi- tions: the outline of the roof or a group of roofs seen against the sky. Roofscape, a term which became popular in the 1950s and 1960s, denotes the landscape of the roofs seen from above in a panoramic view.SKYLINE,
11、 ROOFSCAPE AND TOPOGRAPHYFor the purpose of skyline analysis two contrasting landscape conditions will be studied: the flat site and the hilly or undulating site. Clearly there are many sites which do not fall neatly into the extreme conditions. It is however these extreme conditions which will form
12、 the basis of the discus- sion to follow. There are also other landscape conditions, such as the extent of tree cover or the position, size, form and quality of waterways which are as important as topography for the considera- tion of city form and its decoration. While each unique and individual si
13、te will have its effect upon the skyline, the relationship of skyline and topogra- phy is nevertheless both direct and easily recogniz- able. The relationship of skyline and ground form is most easily established when studying the settle- ments built on flat or steeply sloping sites. Analysing these
14、 two contrasting conditions enables a discussion of skylines in settlements in areas of less well-defined landscape forms. As a general rule formal or regular layouts are usually associated with a level site and informal or irregular layouts are a feature of a sloping site. The natural way to group
15、rectangular buildings is usually at right angles to each other unless there issome overriding reason for doing otherwise. The result of this rational process is a regular layout on the level site. On a steeply sloping site groupings of buildings tend to become informal particularly if the contours a
16、re respected. In traditional hilltop settle- ments the effect of contours on built form is often very apparent: the roads and the accompanying building frontages curve following the contours assiduously, the whole town plan often spreading out with layers of development swelling outwards and downwards from the hilltop core like ripples on a pond. These general principles for normal or usual development on flat or sloping sites, however, require some qualification. Many
