“Architecture in your Hand” it’s the new dpr-barcelona‘s publishing project. A new approach of how books can take advantage on the use of digital technology, the network organization and the production, distribution and use of knowledge, all together outlining a new suggestive landscape to learn.
The ever growing number of mobile devices, the diffusion of the boundaries between public and private space, the subversion of the traditional publishing structure and the new forms of learning; are somehow the start point of this publishing project for architecture contents.
Considering that the main goal of a book is to store and transmit information added to the potential of networked learning, we have imagined that this concept can be expanded and spreaded. As being transmitted through a new basis, this information should be structured following a different mobile logic: enhancing immediacy, brevity, and simplicity.
At the edge of contemporary civilization, few meters from corporate offices, airports that allow you to physically reach all parts of the world, connections that let people to reach virtually anyone, anywhere; in the middle of an international monetary market and large system of financial transactions, there is a parallel world who lives in a much more local dimension and deals with much more real and pressing problems. This dimension has strong relationships with the international part but often it absorbs and reworks status symbols, attitudes, vices and fashions. In parallel, the image and the characteristic features of smallness is spreading and now needs the proper theoretical framework that supports it. Fundamental part of this system is to understand the existence of this phenomenon, the consolidation of its constituent elements, the determination and characterization of the main actors of the process and to produce a schedule of materials (always in evolutions). The first step to enter in this world is to realize that the smallness is all around us and often contaminates our everyday lives without us even realize it. A series of examples and reflections on the theme will make this concept more explicit.
RULES:
1 S has always existed / B comes from the modern city. S is a constant process / B is a variable trend process. 2 S belongs and refers to a local area / B works on a global scale. 3 S access to limited and local resources / B has the ability to access a much wider range of products at global levels. 4 S is creative and unconventional / B is schematic and conventional and uses standard resources 5 S has an horizontal creative process in wich all the factors (economical, social and technological) have equal importance / B has a vertical creative process starting from an economical input and reaching a standardized output. 6 S and B have a mutual relationship: S gives ideas and creativity to B, while B gives resources and waste products that are reprocessed from S. 7 S and B use different professionists: S professionists are locally adapted to the characteristics of the project, while B research international professionists.
EXAMPLES:
REMIDA The project is part of the consolidation of the “Garibaldi 2” complex in Calderara di Reno (Bo). Key factors such the fight against crime and illegal activities have been used for urban regeneration and planning. The interior design is made only with recycled materials, bringing them to be the real protagonist of the project.
ECOLE DEL RUSCO For the fourth edition of the exhibition of art and recycling of Bologna. An artistic and sensory journey through the squares of the city, with five installations by young designers, dedicated to the touch, sight, taste, hearing and smell.
PEACOCK STORE Interior design and supervision for the new Peacock Store, 80 sqm cloathing store located in the city centre of Bologna. The concept design is based on a low cost profile using recycled and industrial materials. The mix of pipes, osb wood and tanks gives to the store an underground style that match with the style of the clothes sell in the shop.
B – CITY Re-writing urban tissue, political strategy, raids in the areas of dysfunction of the network of cycle tracks, plug-in for the bike are just some of the mechanisms of self-generating of urban
consciousness.
PANICO COLLETTIVO Participatory planning for the renovation of San Lorenzo di Panico. Sponsored by National Institute of Urban Planning (INU) department Emilia-Romagna, in collaboration with Municipality of Marzabotto and supervision of bologna district
Since its creation 10 years ago, the IAAC Master in Advanced Architecture with alumni from over 30 different countries, has become the most international post-graduate architecture program offered in Barcelona. To celebrate its 10th anniversary, and reinforce the presence of the Institute in the Iberian Peninsula, IAAC has initiated a special Scholarship Program in order to foster a wider reach of our educational programs in the local architectural community.
Beginning the following academic year, 2011-12, IAAC will offer special scholarships for Spanish and Portuguese Architects, covering 50% of tuition fees. Enclosed you will find a poster for the scholarship program. The IAAC professional Masters in Advanced Architecture and Urbanism program is accredited by the UPC School of Professional & Executive Development and can be completed over one or two years.
IAAC is dedicated to the next generation of architectural development with students and researchers from around the world. This year the MAA program includes 60 students from 25 different countries. The official language of the Institute is English.
In July 2011 two leading independent schools of architecture, the Illinois Institute of Technology College of Architecture, Chicago, and IE School of Architecture, Madrid/Segovia, will join forces to launch theIE/IIT Summer School in Madrid, one of Europe’s most dynamic capital cities. The intensive 8-day studio-based design workshop is open to enthusiastic Architecture undergraduate and master students worlwide. Using Madrid as a laboratory, participants will explore the architectural, urban, and environmental implications of density. Tutors from Chicago, Madrid, and Singapore, will use their own metropolitan backgrounds to enrich the potential evolution of Spain’s capital.
Ecosistema Urbano has been invited to lead a workshop (FESTARCH-LAB) at the international architectural event, curated by Stefano Boeri, FESTARCH 2011 (festarch.it) to be held at various locations in the Italian region of Umbria (Terni, Perugia and Assisi) between May 26th and June 5th 2011.
Jose Luis Vallejo (@jlvmateo) and Domenico Di Siena (@urbanohumano) from ecosistema urbano will be guiding a group of 30 young european architects, students, artist and local citizens to experience the complexity of the city.
Weeks ago through this post (COME WITH US TO FESTARCH-LAB 2011 !!!!!!! ), we launched a call for participants and thanks to our blog followers the response has been very succesful. The selected people will be granted with free registration and accomodation.
The workshop will take place in Terni (100km north of Rome), from May 27th to June 1st 2011.
Next Saturday 28th of May 19.30 there will be an open lecture around ecosistema urbano work at CAOS center Terni.
We’ll be glad to meet some of ecosistema urbano blog readers.
Ecosistema Urbano participe avec KOZ Architectes à l’exposition “Nouveaux équipements à Paris” qui ouvrira le 19 mai au Pavillon de l’Arsenal à Paris. L’exposition présente en plans, images de synthèse et maquettes, les propositions de 30 équipes d’architectes pour imaginer six nouveaux équipements à Paris.
Parmi les projets présentés, nous profitons pour partager avec nos lecteurs celui que nous avons développé, en collaboration avec KOZ, dans le cadre d’un concours pour la construction d’un centre d’animation et aménagement de terrains sportifs à rue Mouraud dans le 20ème arrondissement.
Patricia Martin del Guayo is an architect and PhD Candidate in Urbanism and Sustainability at the Architectural Association’s School in London as a Gobierno Vasco scholar. Her research interests focus on the relationship between urban design and environmental perception including issues of design, use, and experience of public open space. She has recently graduated from the Graduate School of Design at Harvard University with a Master’s of Architecture in Urban Design. She previously obtained his Degree in Architecture from the ETSA San Sebastian (Spain), having studied as an Erasmus Scholar at TU-Wien, Austria. She worked as an architect in several offices across Europe collaborating in a variety of projects of architecture, landscape architecture, and urban planning, and currently maintains her own design practice.
Next Thursday May the 12th Gunter Pauli will be lecturing at IAAC from 12.00- 13.00
Dr. Gunter Pauli graduated with a degree in economics from Loyola’s University in Belgium and obtained his masters in business administration from INSEAD in France. He is an entrepreneur and founder of ZERI Foundation (Zero Emissions Research and Initiatives). The Blue Economy is an international community of companies, innovators and scientists, providing open source access to develop, implement and share prosperous business models that strive to improve natural ecosystems and the quality of life for all.
Institute for Advanced Architecture of Catalonia Carrer de Pujades, 102, Barcelona,
IAAC Auditorium, Free Admission
Ecosistema Urbano has been invited to lead a workshop (FESTARCH-LAB) at the international architectural event, curated by Stefano Boeri, FESTARCH 2011 (festarch.it) to be held at various locations in the Italian region of Umbria (Terni, Perugia and Assisi) between May 26th and June 5th 2011.
The workshop will focus on experiencing the urban complexity while interacting with the city and its citizens. At the same time we’ll try to approach the contemporary urban environment by creative and participatory solutions.
The workshop will take place in Terni (100km north of Rome), from May 27th to June 1st 2011.
What is Ecological Design? comprehensive resource, waste and space management
Featuring: Terreform ONE
Beyond “sustaining” the urban landscape to endure the lifestyles of future generations, ecological design envisions long-lasting urban waste-management techniques and, as the world’s population climbs, long-lasting urban space-management techniques.
An average of 50 million people migrate to cities around the globe each year. As they do, more and more outside (rural) resources are being transported to cities while more and more waste is being transported out of cities to keep their populations comfortable. As global environmental and social pressures build under this unsustainable system (meaning, it won’t last – we’re drawing resources at a faster rate than they grow, and the waste is building up somewhere faster than it’s decomposing), new visions for urban consumption, waste, and space management are needed. To be clear, urbanism is not the problem we’re facing- the current design of urban spaces is. Built to serve the automobile, urban areas, as they exist today, promote the existence of an artificial boundary between the “city” and “nature” that have made it easy for urbanites to ignore their impressive impact on outside communities.
2012Architecten were recently featured in my ecological design fundamentals postfor their ¨superuse¨ of building materials. Rather than an afterthought, material usage plays a central role in the design processes of these dutch architects. Approaching each project with the unique mindset that local discarded materials will shape their final design, the creations of 2012Architecten are not only examples of sustainable architecture practice, they are also fun, exciting examples of urban creativity at it´s best. 2012Architechiten are ahead of thier time and, fittingly, thier projects tend to have a futuristic feel. The three projects featured below utilize, for example, rotor blades, cable reels, sinks and steel beams that once held a textile factory together.
What is Ecological Design? Resposible Materials and Contruction Practices
When constructing, In order to encourage stability of environmental and cultural systems that are already in place, ecological design should utilize the skills and resources available in the nearby areas. I wrote my last post about the necessity for buildings to be engineered so they may evolve in response to environmental changes. Today I will write about how, even more fundamentally, construction process should evolve in response to local contingencies and opportunities.
We can see examples of this practise in the last two examples of ecological design i´ve featured. The first, The Arup designed Druk white lotus school, used both traditional materials and traditional building methods. This supported the local economy, the local culture and avoided harmful environmental effects by limiting the distanace (and carbon-footprint) of material transport. With another take on responsible material usage, Morphosis’ FLOAT house design for New Orleans, acknowledged poverty pressures in affected flood zones all over the world, by (using local labor) assembling the house on-site from pre-fabricated components with all required wall anchors, electrical, mechanical and plumbing systems pre-installed. The affordable housing was designed as easy-to-transport, easy-to assemble sections so that the design may be reapplied throughout the 9th ward, as well as be adapted to the needs of flood zones worldwide.
What is Ecological Design? Evolving, responsive structure
We all know, It´s not enough to engineer a building´s electricity to run on solar panels if it´s not perpetually sunny out. For temperate, seasonal climates, a variety of ¨green¨ design elements are usually used to lower energy consumption for ¨sustainable¨ building projects.
Beyond utilizing technologies like solar panels and wind turbines, ecological design processes embrace seasonal and environmental changes, planning and designing to meet them halfway. Projects have an evolving, informal structure, and take direction from nature herself. Rather than install bike racks to gain LEED points, ecologically designed architecture is structured, from the very core, to respond to change and challenges of the local environment in which it stands.
My last ecological design fundamentals post featured the Druk White Lotus School, set in the northern heights of ladakh, India. Arup engineers faced considerable climate challenges when designing the campus which, because of it’s 9,000-25,000 ft altitude, is very, very cold. However, because of its 9,ooo-25,000 ft altitude, it is also very, very sunny. The building´s design, which revolved around natural lighting and heating techniques for the local conditions, is another reason to consider the campus a prime example of ecological design.
Today we present some pictures that Geir Cock from Hamar kommune sends us as results of a workshop held when Hamar was host of the Norwegian Architecture day in 2004. The workshop was organized by Hamar Kommune and Bergen School of Architecture and was led by the teachers Geir Cock and Henrik Natvig.
In a recent coffee-break in Ecosistema Urbano we have been discussing the project for City of Culture of Galicia by Eisenman Architects and one of us used the expression “Bilbao effect”. Inevitably, this reminded me of a post I had written some time ago for the blog complexitys (HDA | Hugh Dutton Associés) and I would like to share my ideas with our readers:
A recent article on ArchDaily talked about our ‘in progress’ footbridge at La Roche sur Yon.
We’re pleased to be a subject of interest for a such an important architecture website, and what we appreciate even more is the public feedback and the list of comments left, which have inspired some interesting reflections about our work here at HDA.
I would particularly like to share some thoughts on the idea (or even obsession) of “being original” in architecture, the meaning of copying someone or something, and what this could imply nowadays, in a time when everybody is talking about copyright and how it’s changing with new communication technologies.
A brief lecture by each of the participating teams: Plasma Studio (Londres), ecosistema urbano (Madrid), y AFF Architekten (Berlín) will be followed by an open discussion moderated by Kristien Ring, DAZ Director and curator of the exhibition.
The event will start at 19.00 at the Deutsches Architektur Zentrum, Köpenicker Str 48/49, 10179 Berlin-Mitte
Free admission.
More info
La Universidad CEU Cardenal Herrera, que en la edición de 2010 fue la mejor clasificada de las universidades españolas y cuya vivienda solar fue la más votada por el público visitante, ha sido de nuevo seleccionada para diseñar y construir un nuevo prototipo en esta competición internacional, en la que se medirá con las mejores escuelas de ingeniería y arquitectura del mundo.
Por este motivo la Universidad CEU Cardenal Herrera oferta una serie de Becas para participar en el equipo de la competición, dirigidas a sus estudiantes de posgrado del Máster Oficial en Diseño Arquitectónico Sostenible y Evaluación Energética en la Edificación.
El máster en DASEEE comienza en febrero de 2011 por lo que tiene abierto el periodo de matrícula.
MAS Studio and the Chicago Architectural Club are pleased to announce the competition: NETWORK RESET, a single-stage international competition that seeks to provide ideas and actions that can reactivate the Boulevard System of Chicago and rethink its potential role in the city.
Participants are asked to look at the urban scale and propose a framework for the entire boulevard system as well as provide answers and visualize the interventions at a smaller scale that can directly impact its potential users. Through images, diagrams and drawings we want to know what are those soft or hard, big or small, temporary or permanent interventions that can reactivate and reset the Boulevard System of Chicago.
NETWORK RESET is made possible in part by the generous support of Adrian Smith + Gordon Gill Architecture LLP.
Go public. From the successful spaces designed to be enjoyed by the community to the tools citizens have to influence those areas, common or not. From new design methods that create extraordinary opportunities to decisions that challenge our basic public structures. And all this through documentation, investigation and idealization of what can be done; because we believe in the power of PUBLIC. Yes, that is you.
The eighth issue of the quarterly design journal MAS Context, PUBLIC, is already out. All the content is available for free at www.mascontext.com, where you can order a printed copy of the journal from Lulu and download the electronic version.
Contributors include Luis Chillida, Andrew Clark, Lick Fai Eric Ho, Matthew Hoffman, Iker Gil, KARO* with Architektur+Netzwerk, labRAD, Edward Emile Richardson, Rob Smith, Snøhetta, Francine Stock, and David Yoon.
MAS Context is a quarterly journal created by MAS Studio that addresses issues that affect the urban context. Its aim is to provide a comprenhensive view of a topic by the active participation of people from different fields and different perspectives. It instigates the debate.
This exhibition presents eleven architectural projects on five continents that respond to localized needs in underserved communities. These innovative designs signal a renewed sense of commitment, shared by many of today’s practitioners, to the social responsibilities of architecture. Though this stance echoes socially engaged movements of the past, the architects highlighted here are not interested in grand manifestos or utopian theories. Instead, their commitment to a radical pragmatism can be seen in the projects they have realized, from a handmade school in Bangladesh to a reconsideration of a modernist housing project in Paris, from an apartheid museum in South Africa to a cable car that connects a single hillside barrio in Caracas to the city at large. These works reveal an exciting shift in the longstanding dialogue between architecture and society, in which the architect’s methods and approaches are being dramatically reevaluated. They also propose an expanded definition of sustainability that moves beyond experimentation with new materials and technologies to include such concepts as social and economic stewardship. Together, these undertakings not only offer practical solutions to known needs, but also aim to have a broader effect on the communities in which they work, using design as a tool.
Ecosistema Urbano will be presenting their work at the Conference on Ethics in Architectural Practice, organized by The Faculty of Architecture from the University of Technology. The conference will take place in Wroclaw on Oct. 15-16th.
The emergence of the consumerist society has changed the role of culture and architecture. Zygmunt Bauman wrote:
Since culture had lost its status as a necessary tool in the design, construction, and maintenance of the social order, cultural artifacts were withdrawn from the storefront, and, following improvement, made available for sale at the Shopping Centre. Can we manage as a profession to survive, in view of the dissolution of criteria for beauty and usefulness, in a world of fluid values and aesthetics? Are the new, ethics-oriented architectural movements now gaining authority, such as slow architecture and sustainable design, a hope for the renewal of architecture?
The three main topics are:
1. Education in ethics for students of architecture, understood as an awakening of ethical consciousness.
2. Ethics in design. Professional attitudes towards architecture as moral statements.
Due to the project ecosistema urbano has developed and built for Expo Shanghai 2010, we have made several trips to Shanghai and other Chinese cities exploring new possibilities of work and companies.
China is clearly a powerful economic engine and offers many opportunities for architects and engineers. Through these trips we have had some interesting contacts with various Chinese companies and institutions. However, there are also Chinese companies that want to take advantage of this situation, and are operating illegally offering potential projects to European architects who are willing to work and are enthusiastic about the idea of realizing projects in China.
In particular we want to warn you about a company located in the city of Zhengzhou, the Henan Haoshun Investment Management CO., LTD. We have met them twice last summer. The company offers the architects the possibility of signing a contract for the realization of a hypothetical project. We know several offices from different cities in Europe have been contacted to sign the same contract on the same project. This is a scam attempt.
These are the names of the staff responsible of the company: Jingan Wang (General Manager), Gao Ming (Vice General Manager), Jin Hongxiang (Vice General Manager) and Bin Xu (Vice General Manager). The contact person is called Jane.
We hope this information may come to those who believe that it is a formal and serious work offer. Please spread it among your contacts.
La arquitectura paramétrica, de la cual se habla cada día mas, se puede definir de manera sencilla como una nueva forma de entender el proyecto y el diseño de arquitectura, que se beneficia las nuevas tecnologías informáticas de diseño automático. En particular, en cuanto a software específico, nos referimos a programas como rhinoscript y grasshopper.
ecosistema urbano at MAN MADE TOMORROW Conference, Oslo sept. 24th Sustainable urban design, Infrastructure, densification and mobility ecosistema urbano will be presenting their work at the Conference MAN MADE TOMORROW that will be held next friday, 24th in Oslo, Norway. Other lecturers include: Wang Shu, Richard Burdett,Fin Geipel, Knut Erik Dahl, Alan Berger, Francis Rambert. The conference moderator will be John Thackara
Cities are growing. More and more people choose to live and work in the city. Increased traffic and urban sprawl are two of the consequences. Is this a positive trend? Can we continue to develop in this way? How should the city and nature relate to one another? Forward looking sustainable solutions are required. The theme for Oslo’s Architecture Triennale 2010 is architectural policy. MAN MADE TOMORROW will discuss alternatives for the sustainable city. Key themes are climate, urban development, densification and mobility.
This one-day conference takes place at Folketeateret, Oslo on Friday 24th September and will be followed by a social event at Stratos. The conference will be opened by Governing Mayor of Oslo, Stian Berger Røsland.
For more info click on the conference please click here
INFORMATION is all around us. We produce it and consume it constantly. We process it, visualize it and immediately discard it. Inevitably, our everyday life revolves around INFORMATION. For these reasons, we talked to those leading the pack with their ideas and work. We wanted to know the opportunities, challenges, trends and mistakes of the so-called Information Age. Digest your new set of INFORMATION.
On August 29th, Van Alen Institute and Environmental Defense Fund will host a roundtable discussion at the Venice Biennale US Pavilion to explore the environmental challenges faced by coastal cities throughout the world.
Titled Project Eco-Delta, the initiative is part of VAI and EDF’s ongoing collaboration in developing design strategies for the landscape surrounding New Orleans—the Mississippi River’s coastal delta. The forum will feature leading experts from the fields of design, engineering, public policy and environmental science, who will discuss innovative ways with which we can address the needs of fragile deltas and the communities living in them.
Barcelona has always been a place of transfer and exchange, as well as a permanent laboratory for urban proposals that reflect the reality of many cities.
Today’s new, plural, intelligent cities not only work in traditional areas affecting urban environments, such as infrastructure, land, networks, etc., but they are now also focusing on other factors that affect their growth and development. These factors include sustainability criteria, creating balanced communities, making use of new technologies in the areas of transport, energy and communications, and cultural and geographic matters that can help the city develop a unique personality.
The Master’s Programme RELATIONAL BARCELONA, organized by the ESARQ School of Architecture and the Faculty of Humanities at the Universitat Internacional de Catalunya, provides students with a deeper understanding of the identity of cities, their origins and future developments, and how a critical, multidisciplinary approach can be taken to resolve unknowns regarding the projection, development and management of the cities of tomorrow. In particular, the Master’s programme is aimed at holders of undergraduate degrees who are interested in the growth, development and management of cities from the social, cultural, economic and urban perspectives. Candidates for enrolment in the programme include analysts, cultural managers, communicators, technical managers, technicians, environmental experts, political analysts and journalists.
AMUSEMENT is in context. That seems imperfectly meta and self-referential, but to find something funny or entertaining relies entirely on perspective and circumstance. Enjoyment is found in the heart of the beholder. It’s personal. And the person creating the event, the statement, the idea, the passage will, like any artist with an eye, see what he or she can get away with. J’amuse? You muse.
The Bauhaus SOLAR Award is being awarded for the first time at the 3rd International Congress Bauhaus.SOLAR in Erfurt on 10th November 2010.
Der Bauhaus.SOLAR Award for young talent is being sponsored by SolarInput e.V., Solarvalley Mitteldeutschland e.V., the German Solar Industry Association and the European Photovoltaic Industry Association. The award is being advertised all over Europe and is geared towards students and young graduates. It honours superb architecture and design projects from over the last two years which demonstrate innovative use of renewable energy and the award is endowed with 15,000 Euros. An international jury selected from architecture and industry assess the submitted works.
ANCB Re-act Lab Research Workshop
Call for Participants: São Paulo Architecture Experiment
informal realities shaping futures – mobility, housing and micro infrastructures
initiated with Elisabete França and the Secretaria Municipal de Habitação of the city of São Paulo (Sehab), S.L.U.M. Lab Columbia University and ANCB
Attention all Porto-dwellers and beyond! In collaboration with cirdodeideas, Arkinet are giving away two tickets to the Open Source 2010 seminar featuring renowned engineer and architect Cecil Balmond, taking place on June 12 from 2:30pm to 8pm at Porto’s spectacular Koolhaas-designed Casa da Musica. The seminar focuses on the concept of “open source” in relation to the exploration of architecture through diverse perspectives and professions, and includes speakers from artistic to scientific fields, such as TED speaker andethno-mathematicianRon Eglash, and Argentine artist Tomás Saraceno.
As part of its ongoing multimedia exhibition project ‘Endless City’, MAMA is launching an open-submission competition: ‘Reclaiming the Street’. ‘Endless City’ is a multi-part project, initiated in the summer of 2009, in which MAMA explores the relationships between skateboard culture, the public realm and (visual) art, with a wink to the heritage of the Situationist International.
‘Reclaiming the Street’ is an open-submission competition aimed at established and emerging artists, architects and skateboarders who have or wish to establish a relationship with skateboard culture. We are looking for unpublished and unrealised concepts for the (re)organisation of urban public spaces in order to create a place for multiple user groups including skateboarders. Whereas in the past skateboarders were driven away from public spaces and then ‘caged up’ in purpose-built skateparks, we envisage a new phase in which youth culture and skateboard culture will be integrated within the public realm. In addition to our wish to provide a valid place for skateboard culture, we see skateboard culture as an instrument for improving the quality of certain public spaces.
‘Reclaiming the Street’ takes the idea of skateboard culture as ‘homo ludens’ as its starting point for building bridges between the all those who make use of the public realm.
Regione Calabria (Italy) - Town Planning and Territorial Governance Department – announces the first “Zero Emission” international competition, Solar Park South, fully managed online by means of the portal www.newitalianblood.com.
Participants are requested to provide economically, energetically and culturally sustainable projects and innovative ideas for the reuse of an imposing 10-km highway stretch, between the municipalities of Scilla and Bagnara, soon to be decommissioned.
Participation is open to architects, landscape architects, engineers, designers, artists, scientists, researchers and students worldwide.
