Transformation of the urban tissue and courtyard of residential architecture: With a focus on the discourses and plans of Paris in the 20th century

Abstract

This paper includes a critical review and an exploration of changes in the urban tissue of Paris and the characteristics of architectural forms in collective housing based on discourses and projects of the 20th century. Such discourses have addressed openings and closures of systems created by relationships of basic urban tissue components such as streets, plots, blocks, and buildings. What is clear is that the residential courtyard as intermediate space contributes directly to establish and change the relations between architectural layout and urban context. Considering social, architectural and urban objectives about open space in urban residences and situation changes of the 20th century, the roles and features of courtyards are categorized into three axes — hygiene, community, and urbanity. The interconnection of hygiene, community, and urbanity resulted in the emergence of a new building type to define the role and value of the courtyard.