NARRATIVE & VISUAL ASSESSMENT
1.3 The shape of the space: How would you describe it, Tall and narrow, or wide and open?
What about the number of stories surrounding the space? Is it a single uninterrupted space ora series of small linked spaces? Is the ground plane level? Does it slope or is it terraced?
How do you enter the space and from where? What about its dimensions?
•    The space it islocated in the center of Alkhumes city. In the corner of the crossing AL Fatah street and AL magarif Street.
•    It’s wide with three elevations. It’s a series of four small linked spaces.
•    It’s surrounding by number of stories (in east side) with poor empty land in back side (north side).
•    It’s a ground planelevel.
•    It’s terraced. And the roof has the same level.
•    Each block with their function hasown entrance. So, the place has four entranceslocated atAL Fatahand AL magarifstreets. One of the entrances has a small awing on the top of the door.
•    The space has 3 meters in heights because it’s ground plane level. And 90 cm of the terrace in the top of the place.
•    There is no stairs going on the roof of space.
•    Each block has different area from the others. It is around 12 meter square for each small blocks and 20meter square for big blocks.
•    The space close to the main street (AL Fatah) of the city. And this street connects to the capital of Libya (Tripoli). It is busy street with traffic and pedestrians.
1.4 The articulation of the space: How much wall as opposed to the number of openingsand penetrations such as entrances, doors and windows? How big are the windows, whereare they located, and can you see through them? Is the space completely open or is shelterprovided in the way of arcades, awnings, verandas or balconies?
Are there trees, how big are they? Do they break up the scale of the space and make it lessconfronting or do they make it less public and more private? Is there a permanent featurepresent within the space, such as a fountain or public art sculpture? Does the space havecapacity to accommodate temporary installations such as a band stand or market stalls? Is ita pedestrian space, a vehicle dominant space, or shared space for both cars andpedestrians?

•    The space has no windowsand has four doors (2meters in width & 2 meters in height) for a big block (restaurant and clothing shop). And (one meters in width & two meters in height) for a small block (computer items and telecommunication’s services).
•    For the block which using as restaurant you can see from the class of the doors if you are inside the place. However, you can’t see clearly from outside to inside. This is to give the private to the people who are eating inside the restaurant. This is type of their culture. And for the other blocks you can see from the class of the doors if you are inside or outside the buildings. This is tooattractive the people to go inside the building for shopping.
•    The space with a whole block is not shelter. It’s terraced and one of the block entrances has a small awing.
•    There are small trees (palm trees) in front of the space, and surrounding with a big size of trees along AL FatahStreet. The small trees didn’t break up the scale of the space. Also didn’t giving any private to the space. They are unappropriated trees for this block. Moreover, there are no trees in the side of AL Magarif Street.
•    There isn’t a permanent feature present within the space.
•    There are a pedestrian’s space with three meters in width and vehicle dominant space for two way road.
•    There were no cars parking in front of the space. However, people parking their cars any way on the main street in in front of the space.  Some of them using the back side of the space (empty land).
1.5 The Condition of the space:
Arrangement and setting of furnishings & details (e.g. outdoor furnishings, shopfront treatments, lighting arrangements, bike stands, rubbish bins, signage, bollards,bus shelters and letter boxes etc.) Is rubbish prevalent? Furnishings damaged ordilapidated. What about size? Too big – too small – Just right? – Hopeless for children,excellent for skateboarders???
Treatments of and condition of finished surfaces e.g. the application of grasses, thearrangements of brick and stone, concrete and tar; or the use of rough-sawn timber boarding.
Are walls exposed, white washed and painted, or lined with curtain walls offinished aluminum or precast patterned concrete etc. Are the surfaces broken wornand chipped? Is the paint flaking? Are awnings faded or torn and shabby and windowsbroken?

•    The space has poor condition because there are lack of green space around the place, outdoor furnishings, any bike stands, and no rubbish bins. Moreover, the people who are using the space putting their rubbish on the pedestrian’s route in the front of the space.
•    There were any activities could be attractive people in front of the space.
•    There is lack or poor public transport services. So, thereweren’t bus shelters around this space.
•    The things we can see around the place are one light traffic, street lighting, small palm trees and poor empty land on the back of space.
•    The materials which used for place finished are concrete and tar. Brown washed and painted,doors of aluminum and class and small awing with brick.
•    The pavement in front of the place finished with concrete.
•    Some buildings around the place have paint flaking, different colors from the other and some of them unfinished buildings.
•    The space has poor quality of pavement for pedestrian walking. Also the restaurant block has 2 steps on their entrance and no ramp. This is will be hard to use by disability people and with children’s stroller.

1.6 The Scale of the Place: Drawing on the work developed in Project 1B (2.1 Measure the shape and articulation of the space) comment on the place with respect to the surroundinggeneric scale and the relative human scale. Are windows too high for passers-by? Do otheraspects such as cars dominate the space and impede human activity.

•    The space and their surrounding buildings have different scale from each other. For example, thespaceis one level, and there were other buildings surrounding the place with 2, 3, 4 and 6 stories.
•    Busy traffic and parking the cars on the street on front of the space were dominate the space and impede human activity.

1.7 The Use of the Place: with respect to the surrounding enterprise be they residential,commercial, business, service or recreationally focused. Do shops surround the space andfrom the edge to the place. What do the retail? Are many stores vacant? Do they support asafe public and democratic environment or is the culture and activity dominated by aparticular group. Is the space something of a waste land or is it boutique and its managementregulated.

•    The space has many functions. It is used as restaurant, shop for computers items, clothing shop for men and telecommunication’s shop.And it’s surrounding with a number of commercial, business stores and shops from the edge of the place.
•    Ground floor of surrounding buildings used for business retail. And the top level used for residential. Its culture and activity dominated.
•    The space is own person land. It is private. And it’s their care.

1.8 The activation of the space: How is the place used, where do people come from and goto? What are they doing? Are there any people at all, or is it a service zone which isdominated by delivery trucks and the occasional security guard? Or is it more a place for straydogs and cats or a place more conducive to illicit activity?

•    The place areused for different functions. Its restaurant, shop for computers items, clothing shop for men and telecommunication’s shop. The restaurant always busy with people because it’s located in the busy street and in the people way. Also, the clothing men’s shop because it’s fashion. Now a day we know that the technology take a big place from our life. So, the other both shops were busy all the time of opening hours.
•    It is easy for people to assess the place. They can come from AL Fatah and AL Magarif streets by walking, cars, bus or bikes. It’s located in the cross section of both streets.
•    The areas of and around the place are busy with people. There were a lot of activitiesaround the place. Such as offices, shopsand other services for people’s needs.