2005 / III

From Duany-Plater Zyberk website
In response to the devastation of Hurricane Katrina, Mississippi governor Haley Barbour has invited DPZ to coordinate the rebuilding of eleven Gulf Coast towns for the CNU. Andres Duany is heading the effort, and has organized a taskforce of over 100 New Urbanists, as well as local experts and officials. These professionals - including architects, planners, and transportation specialists - will convene in early October at a workshop dedicated to the renewal of the Mississippi coast. All are working at little or no cost.
Describing the crisis as an opportunity to improve Mississippi's built landscape, Duany aims to "create areas that are more diverse, less auto-dependent, more environmentally friendly and more secure from hurricanes." Accordingly, projects will not only focus on reconstruction, but also on revamping building and development codes.

For more information ...

While European institutions seem to be fascinated by Unidentified Flying Objects landing everywhere in the old continent, a Chinese new billionaire reminds EU of the extreme value of its architectural tradition.
Zhang Yu Chen has decided to build his mansion in the outskirt of Bejing as a tribute to European architecture. A residential village which has soon become a very popular spot where new chinese couples celebrate their marriage.

While Zhang Yu Chen is using private money to build his project, European institutions spend public money to build alien objects in the very heart of European cities. A very peculiar way to a democratic architecture.

ZHANG LAFITTE CHATEAU, Bejing, China 2005,
the new residential village built by Zhang Yu Chen with reference to Chateau Lafitte in France and Bernin's Columnade in Rome;
from: "Corriere della sera magazine", 06-10-05

What is the best way to structure meaningful "local involvement"?
Political processes have always shaped the built environment. Under the new Planning Policy Statement 1, a "Statement of Local Involvement" is required for most new and regeneration projects. How can this new requirement best be addressed, and how can a potential liability be converted into an asset, helping to create a stronger and more successful project? What are the approaches available, and their advantages and disadvantages?
Led by Paul Murrain, co-author of Responsive Environments, and a pioneer of the public participation process Enquiry by Design, and joined by other leaders in the field, including sociologist Ken Worpole, RIBA urban design champion John Thompson, Planning for Real proponent Nick Wates, and Placemaking advocate Rob Cowans, this masterclass will examine the broader challenges and opportunities of public participation, using some of the toughest case studies in the most complex political environments to illustrate how local concerns and bureaucratic disorder can be replaced with a shared vision of development, and a coherent basis for better design.
The course is £675 + VAT for all three days, pro-rated for one or two days. Special discounts for strategic partners, and limited full scholarships are also available. To register, contact Nanette Brew-Butler on (020) 7613-8548.

ALTER ARCHITECTURE
Ici, ailleurs & autrement"

du 23 octobre 2005 au 26 mars 2006
à la Fondation pour l'Architecture

Fondation pour l'Architecture - Rue de l'Ermitage, 55 à 1050 Bruxelles
T: 00.32 (0)2.642.24.80 - F: 00.32 (0)2.642.24.82 - fondation.architecture@skynet.be www.fondationpourlarchitecture.be

COMMUNIQUE

A l'occasion de la remise du Prix Européen d'Architecture Philippe Rotthier, la Fondation pour l'Architecture organise une grande exposition consacrée à " l'alter architecture " à travers le monde. A l'instar de l'alter mondialisme, l'alter architecture envisage une manière différente de concevoir le domaine du construit, en tenant compte des contraintes liées à la société actuelle mais aussi de la nécessité de protéger l'environnement et des caractéristiques des lieux dans lesquels il se développe (climat, mode de vie, etc.). Il s'agit, à l'heure de la globalisation, de porter une réflexion sur la manière dont l'architecture se positionne par rapport à son programme, et sur les alternatives possibles face à une uniformisation peu adaptée aux besoins des hommes et de la planète.

L'exposition propose un parcours à travers le monde, à la découverte de cultures architecturales de natures diverses. Qu'elles soient urbaines ou rurales, solides ou éphémères, réalisées par des architectes ou non, elles diffèrent dans leurs formes mais se rejoignent sur le fond. Elles ont comme point commun leurs liens avec les traditions culturelles et constructives, respectant leur environnement bâti ou naturel et ayant recours à des matériaux peu polluants, recyclables et consommant peu d'énergie. Leur confrontation met en évidence ces points de convergence qui constituent un enseignement pour l'architecture de demain.

La présentation simultanée de réalisations croisées, anciennes et actuelles, mène à explorer les thèmes de l'universalité du régionalisme et du caractère porteur de la construction artisanale, notamment au travers du développement des technologies et de la circulation des informations.
A travers ces architectures, urbaines ou rurales, qui respectent un certain nombre de codes identiques et qui sont ancrées dans le temps, l'exposition insiste sur l'importance de la prise en compte des enseignements et les acquis des générations précédentes et préindustrielles, mais aussi sur l'adaptation aux mentalités nouvelles et aux technologies de pointe.

L'exposition offre un rassemblement exceptionnel d'images réunies par des spécialistes, en Europe, Chine, Asie, Amérique du Sud et du Nord, Afrique, Groenland, etc. Elle développe les différents thèmes sous forme de reproductions photographiques, de plans, de maquettes, d'objets, de matériaux et de constructions réalisées dans les salles. Elle présente de manière non exhaustive les ensembles architecturaux illustrés ci-après.

La banalisation des villes et campagnes d'Europe par des architectures passe-partout qui s'imposent plutôt qu'elles ne sont acceptées est elle inéluctable ? La défaite de l'espace public et la victoire des non-lieux sont-elles irrémédiables ? Les styles architecturaux sont-ils définitivement condamnés à n'être plus que des variations conceptuelles et abstraites ? L'imitation, processus de conception artistique immémorial, est-elle devenue synonyme d'impuissance à créer du neuf ?
Autant d'interrogations auxquelles ce livre s'attache à répondre à travers des réalisations contemporaines et une manière de bâtir la ville et la campagne qui renoue avec le meilleur de la tradition constructive européenne.
Des architectures touchées par les ailes de l'ange de la fantaisie, sensibles au souffle de la terre, qui embrassent amoureusement l'histoire, respirent la mémoire qui est source de nostalgie et de plaisir, sont légères à l'environnement, ne participent pas au déséquilibre du monde et résistent aux avancées conquérantes de la science, de la technique et de la mondialisation.
De Bordeaux à Moscou, de Madrid à Bologne, d'Oslo à Bruxelles, de la terre ferme aux îles, des capitales aux hameaux… Autant d'illustrations de l'aphorisme de Federico Fellini : " Soyez régional et vous serez universel ".
L'auteur, qui préside depuis 1982 le Prix européen Philippe Rotthier pour la Reconstruction de la Ville, y a puisé nombre d'œuvres de référence et de réalisations qui s'inscrivent dans la continuité du génie bâtisseur européen.

"Petrol Apocalypse"
by Yves Cochet

Fayard Edition, Paris 2005

From the priviledged viewpoint of the former Minister for the Environment of the French Government a sharp analysis of the dangers that our contemporary society has to face before the end of oil.

"the party is over" and we have to find an alternative way towards an environmental sensitive development.

"Le fabuleux destin d'Amélie Poulain "

by Jean-Pierre Jeunet, France, 2000

Cast:
Yolande Moreau, Rufus,
Mathieu Kassovitz, Audrey Tautou

Commedy

"The camera frames Amelie while she wanders around Montmartre quarter in Paris. The scene involves an urban road outlined by simple and elegant buildings with several shops at ground floor and the characteristic mansard roofs. The protagonist heads for the metro station of Abesses. The small square where there is one of the typical structures of the beginning of the 1900s of the Metro holds a microcosm made of pedestrian spaces with trees and benches, the characteristic post office at the corner with the yellow sign of La Poste, and again shops, old men resting on the benches set in the shadow of trees and children running at the discovery of the city and of the world. Cars are running at a reduced speed inside this urban environment adjusted on man.

The streets surrounding the pedestrian platform in the center of the square are dimensioned so as to offer a comfortable sidewalk and a carriageable space sufficient to make a car running and to allow parking another one.
The scene shifts to a quarter's street. There is a bistro at the corner of a typical Haussmannian block and then shops, people doing the shopping on foot, as every day, as always.
It is Paris, it is a capital, a city with more than 2 millions inhabitants, an international metropolis. Though it is also an urban village built on a human scale.
What cinema clearly shows us is a revelation for the world of architecture and of town planning. It is possible to live in a city with millions of inhabitants, with intercontinental airports, railway stations linked with the whole Europe through an effective system of high-speed lines. It is possible to live in a city holding museums unique in the world, a network of hundreds and hundreds of kilometers of urban and regional underground. A city hosting ministries, international organizations, multiple stores, universities, sunken parkings next to elegant commercial streets. Urban parks, Tour Eiffel, Arches of Triumph, Internet cafés: everything modern man desires is in Paris.
It is possible to live in this fantastic metropolis and discover that its incredible liveability is just its characteristic of being made up by several urban villages, where a whole microcosm of small retail shops, buildings mixed with offices and flats gathers around a small square. It is possible to live in this city today, at the beginning of the III millennium and at the same time to enjoy the privileges of the accessibility of an international metropolis and of the conviviality of a province village.
A revelation for the sclerotic world of architecture. "

from "The fabulous world of Amelie: Urban Architecture and the Development Pattern for the European City"
Gabriele Tagliaventi, Architecture in the age of globalization, A&C Documents N.2, Alinea, Firenze 2003

A masterplan which is remarkable for its simple urban proposal, the facades'rythm, and the use of regional materials, colors, and compositive elements such as loggias, elongated balconies.
The tradition,vivified by the love of those who, arriving from a distance place, is impressed by a landscape of rare beauty.

Villa Nueva Pardillo, Spain - Plaza Mayor, section

De-industrialization, sprawl, increasing traffic, social polarisation, ageing, the energy crisis and shrinking populations confront the European city with enormous challenges to their urban development. Politicians, investors, experts and citizens' initiatives in many European countries have tried a variety of strategies to respond to the social, environmental and economic changes in the globalised world with more or less success in their efforts. These different experiences need to be assessed and space given for a range of views, the exchange of best practice examples, and finally the discussion of the fundamental question: What kind of city do we want to have? This is not simply an academic question but one that determines the everyday life of cities and communities.

Berlin's urban policy provided Congress participants with an example for other European cities. The "critical reconstruction" of the reunited city's traditional urban structure has provided a viable alternative to post WWll modernist planning in both East and West Berlin.

More broadly, we know that European urbanism should counteract urban sprawl, the devaluation of urban areas and the social, economic and cultural erosion of cities, towns, villages and the countryside. Furthermore it should help to improve the quality of urban space, support local identity, reduce social gaps and save resources. It is also important to promote efforts to handle our natural resources responsibly. For example, the European city region must try to lessen its dependence on oil. Urbanism is a key to the form of our future life, our economy, our culture, and our society. So the future of European urbanism is important not only for experts and specialists; but for everybody living in urban space and should involve all the stakeholders in European urbanism.

The Congress demonstrated that the fundamental changes to our cities, towns, villages and countryside require us to build bridges in many areas. We need bridges:

-between European cities, towns, villages and the countryside,
-between all the stakeholders in urban development,
-within planning, urban design and architectural professions,
-between urbanist institutions and networks, and
-between Europe and the rest of the world.

1. Bridges between European cities, towns, villages and the countryside
The strength of Europe lies in its cultural variety, in the richness of its cities, towns, villages and countryside and its cultural landscapes. Cities and regions are in competition with each other, but at the same time they need mutual cooperation, in order to be able to compete world-wide. The exchange of experiences about the development and reconstruction of European cities is of outstanding importance but this exchange has not yet developed enough. The CEU can act as a medium to make it possible to intensify the exchange of experiences and ideas in the field of urbanism within Europe in ways summed up in its Charter.

2. Bridges between all the participants in urban development
Discussions on urban development issues often take place in a very isolated way between different sectors and groups. Different stakeholders have their own language and their own central ideas. The exchange of ideas between different groups is still underdeveloped. The CEU can be a medium for ideas exchange between different stakeholders, in the dialogue between policy makers, administrators, economists, social scientists and other urban experts, between practical planners, urban designers, architects, landscape architects, scientists in various fields, investors, real estate managers and community groups.

3. Bridges between architectural, design and planning professions
Experts in urban design, planning and architecture are divided into many different blocs. When it comes to urbanism such blocs are not very helpful. Above all, CEU says, through its charter, that architecture and planning must be decisively subordinated to urbanism. All the urban professions need to work together for the improvement of city regions, peripheries, existing suburbs and historic city cores. The CEU supports urbanism that considers city regions as a whole but works at a fine grain and a human scale.

4. Bridges between urbanist institutions and networks
The Council for European Urbanism (CEU) believes that only with others can we work on urbanist issues in a constructive way. That is why the Council for European Urbanism strives for cooperation with networks and institutions which care for urbanism explicitly or implicitly. We want to cooperate with associations in the fields of architecture, urban design, landscape planning, city and regional planning and urban development, with government institutions, with scientific institutions and networks, with associations and institutions dealing with real estate, as well as with community initiatives and non-governmental organisations. Such cooperation should put joint objectives to the fore, and allow different views to be discussed constructively within the context of the approach advocated in our Charter.

5. Bridges between Europe and the rest of the world
The CEU stands as a partner with organisations and movements that promote urbanism in the rest of the world. We intend to continue to work in close collaboration with the Congress for the New Urbanism (CNU) in the USA especially to promote joint efforts in the aftermath of hurricane Katrina in New Orleans and its region. We also support the development of urbanism movements in other parts of the world, as for example in Australia and New Zealand, and the Movement for the Israeli Urbanism (MIU).

Proposal in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina
The city region of New Orleans has been largely destroyed by a natural disaster - this is a large-scale human tragedy. We declare our solidarity with New Orleans and its people. It will be a great challenge for everybody to reconstruct this city. We propose to erect a transatlantic bridge of specialists from the United States and Europe, to search for ways to restore the city of New Orleans within the urbanist framework of our Charter. Furthermore we suggest the organization of an interdisciplinary Urban Congress with CNU and possibly other organizations in future, in order to concentrate efforts and to discuss strategies for renewal. Individual members of CEU also offer support in regional and social planning, water management and housing construction.

Inaugural Urbanism Award
During the Congress, the CEU made its first Award -The CEU Award for Achievement in Urbanism - 2005 to Dr Hans Stimmann, Director of the Berlin Senate Administration for Urban Planning.

"Seven Fallacies in Architectural Culture"
An interesting essay by Doug Kelbaugh, Dean
Taubman College of Architecture + Urban Planning
University of Michigan
Click here to read the article

" New urbanists have a vision"
by David Tortorano - SUN HERALD /www.sunherald.com
"In architectural and designing circles, he's considered the father of "New Urbanism." Andres Duany is heading a team of more than 100 new urban experts - architects, planners, transportation specialists - from across the nation who hope to show South Mississippi one possible vision for the future in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina...."Click here to read the article

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