This month we have received a nice surprise: our blog has more than 6000 visist a month and we have reached the number of 4000 visitors a month. We are also happy to have 140 people subscribed to the Spanish version and 59 to the English version – they receive our news daily in their mail or in their favourite feed. This is really a wonderful surprise. We are very happy with the blog. We would like it to become even more participative, a catalyst for creative and innovative people, ideas and projects. We are open to all your proposals – just write to us. We want to offer this space to (interesting) people for publishing their ideas and projects.
I also want to introduce some new projects. We are very interested in the new phenomenon of Social Network, specially sites like Facebook, which we are already using for our community (eu:abierto). Well, we have just launched another community in facebook for students. All students are welcome to join (write in English as you please!!).
Archive for December, 2007
December 23, 2007
Today we want to welcome Ethel Barahona Pohl to eu:abierto.
‘I am an architect from Salvador and for the last 9 years I have lived in Barcelona. I have attached my professional development to technical publications on architecture and construction, such as Constructiva and Waterdrops magazines. I am dedicated to publishing and with the project Caja Negra: (www.caja-negra.com) I carry out activities for various international firms.
I have recently published the book Arquitectura Sostenible. I am a co-writer, together with architects César Reyes and Claudio Pirillo. You can have a look at it from:
www.editorialpencil.es
www.ribabookshops.com
I am particularly interested on sustainable architecture and all novelties and topics that enable a more adequate social, environmental and economical development of our profession.
Our friends from basurama have been working on their blog for a few months. It is becoming more and more interesting each day. There, we have found an eye-opening report by la2 (Spanish public tv channel). In the words of juan from basurama: a well rounded, realistic report. Not softy, nor mushy. Gives voice to those who speak without slant or external opinions. It doesn’t become patronising, nor dogmatic (something out of the ordinary in this time of the year, and we are pleased about it).
At the end of September, we were finalists in the competition called by the environment department at La Casa Encendida (Madrid) for the design of supports and contents for the exhibition “ciudades habitables” (habitable cities). We want to share our proposal. Here is the pdf we handed in and the concept behind it:
WHY ARE WE CREATING A NEW SPACE ON THE ROOF TERACE AND NOT DESIGNING AN EXHIBITION?
Al Gore, Nobel 2007, ha convertido el cambio climatico en un negocio redondo, segun el articulo de El Pais de este domingo. Se calcula la fortuna personal del ex-vicepresidente de EE.UU. a unos 100 millones de dolares (cuando empezo con esto tenia 2 millones). Cobra unos 100.000 dolares o mas la conferencia y ha consolidado varias empresas entorno al medioambiente. Una estructura demasiada organizada economicamente, quizas… Deja algo en que pensar.
December 22, 2007
Last month, [ecosistema urbano] was awarded the first price in the “ar awards for emerging architecture”, by the prestigious architecture magazine The Architectural Review (London).
More than 400 entries from 80 countries were competing for this award for emerging architects younger than 45 years of age, and three were the winners: our Ecobulevar in Vallecas, Wall House in Santigao de Chile by FAR frohn&rojas and the showroom FLEG Daikanyama in Tokio by Taketo Shimohigoshi/AAE. In the highly commended works we find another firm from Madrid – estudio FAM with their 11M Memorial – congratulations.
Many interesting people were in the jury: : Shirley Blumberg (Kuwabara Payne McKenna Blumberg Architects, Toronto), Peter Cook (Archigram, UK), Peter Davey (former editor of The Architectural Review magazine), Shuhei Endo (Shuhei Endo Architect Institute, Osaka), Jo Noero (Noero Wolff Architects, Cape Town) y Paul Finch (current editor of The Architectural Review magazine and president of the jury).
Today we want to introduce another member of the “ecosistemaurbano:abierto” group: Jorge Gobbi.
‘The topics “city” and “urban development” have always been among my concerns. I tend to refer to these themes in my blog (Blog de Viajes, http://www.blogdeviajes.com.ar) and many of the books I buy are on urban issues.
I am a Communications graduate from the University of Buenos Aires, where I also teach. I was in charge of the seminary “Communication, Travels and Social Representations”, and I am Chief of Practical Projects for the subject Theory and Practice of Communication II. I also frequently carry out jobs as a journalist specialised on technology.
I am currently working on my Masters thesis on Science, Technology and Society at the University of Quilmes and I have started preparing my PhD on Social Sciences at the University of Buenos Aires.’
At the last negotiations about climate change held in Bali, USA, Canada and Japan were against a post-Kyoto treaty to stop global warming and are convincing other delegates to do the same.
It seems that these countries are happy to continue polluting the atmosphere as they please –and the rest of the planet will pay the consequences. Most wealthy countries had agreed to drastically reduce polluting emissions by year 2020 – a key move, according to experts, to stop climate change. Countries like China and India, and other large developing countries, won’t commit to the treaty until all developed countries do. This news is worrying. As well as USA, who did the same they did in Kyoto, now Japan and Canada refuse to even mention a global agreement to reduce CO2 and other polluting emissions.
Source: www.avaaz.org
African garden in the heart of Paris
Category: ⚐ EN
We want to show you this interesting initiative in the African area of XVIII arrondissement in Paris. Three Swiss artists have lived in this area for a month and have taken action, each according to her ideas.
Rahel Hegnauer has acted on an empty plot at number 5 Laghouat street, creating a temporary garden. You can see the whole creative process from her website. You can even download African recipes for cooking the vegetables cultivated in the garden.
We believe these initiatives are very necessary for optimising residual spaces in large cities, where citizens suffer a lack of everyday resources.
dangerous ground
Category: ⚐ EN
this campaign against antipersonnel mines (dangerousground) tries to let us know how it feels when the ground is dangerous. I think this is a very clever campaign (and very well put together), but see it for yourselves: