3.12 SIGNIFICANT VIEWS AND VIEW LINES
Planning for a city in the mountains offers urban designers opportunities, which do not exist in the plains. On a flat site one must build elaborate monuments to create spatial orientations, axis and to provide a sense of enclosure. Here in the Thimphu Valley there is a vast geologically formed visual system, which we must only study and understand in order to harness its beauty. We could call this potential, the “borrowed landscape!”
In addition to the vast “borrowed landscape” there are Lhakhangs and Monasteries perched on key promontories, or set way back in valleys, accentuating visual walls.
While the Western tradition in landscape architecture and urban design was to enclose space, to create preserves of mankind, the Bhutanese tradition is to build upon and accentuate nature’s grand plan of things, Points in space take on more significance. It is nature that is supreme, not man. Alignments in space, like Chortens arranged along the river basin, have their own unique significance.
The views and visual experiences offered by the Thimphu Valley are categorized under the following heads:
• Distant views, along the Visual Corridors
• Views of the surrounding peaks and ridges
• Panoramic views of the valley
• Micro views and vistas within the city
• Possible enhancement of the existing view lines
• Utilization of these factors in the physical development and design
of the city.
Distant Views
The location of the city within a valley, and the narrow “Visual Corridor”
formation that characterizes it, enable uninterrupted distant views of the
enclosing natural features surrounding the city.
These give both a comprehensible visual scale and establish a distinct visual memory of the city, as being a valley set amidst a series of hill formations.
Views of Peaks and Ridges
Certain sections of the city offer more close range views of the surrounding
hill ranges, particularly the peaks and ridges. These views are different
in their visual content as they offer details of the physical components of
the hill formations, such as the details of the hill face, the nature and
density of vegetation and gradients, etc.
Panoramic Views of the Valley
Certain key locations within the valley offer uninterrupted views of significant
lengths of the valley. These views are a combination of the two earlier categories
of “Distant Views” of hill formations and close range views of
peaks and ridges. These are significant as they locate the city within the
natural setting, and represent the whole situation, rather than small, broken
views with distinctive characteristics.
Micro Views and Vistas within the City
The physical construct of the city and its underlying pattern form view lines
and vistas.
These get established both naturally and through designed directives. In most
cases, these views are of certain natural features, framed by the bordering
built structures, or landscape elements along boulevards.
Possible Enhancement of Existing View Lines
The very nature of these views allows for possible enhancement through urban
design features and components, like the replacement of high, opaque compound
walls, with more natural and transparent alternatives like hedges and lines
of trees. This has been indicated through a set of comparative photographs
on page 85.
Utilization of These Factors in Physical
Development and Design
These characteristics can be incorporated into the physical development and
design directives in the following manner:
• To regulate the scale and density of built-form within the city, to
facilitate views of the valley and retain existing view lines.
• To guide the development of boulevards offering good views, enhancing
the visual quality of the whole experience.
• To guide the physical characteristics of built-form components such
as compound walls and street edges to retain and accentuate certain views.
• To locate key public facilities, on strategic sites, offering uninterrupted
views of the natural setting, thus conferring certain grandeur to their parent
functions.
• For the location of, and identification of, interesting viewpoints
and picnic spots along the valley.
• In the establishment of “Environmental Guidelines”, to
retain the essential natural character of the valley.
MAP NO. 3.12 SIGNIFICANT VIEWS AND VIEWLINES(click to view the map)
