December 9, 2010

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MAS Context: PUBLIC

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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.

Web: www.mascontext.com

text by Iker Gil, editor in chief of MAS Context

October 19, 2010

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Small Scale, Big Change: New Architectures of Social Engagement

Category: ⚐ EN+architecture+sustainability

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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. continue reading

October 14, 2010

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ecosistema urbano at the Conference on Ethics in Architectural Practice, Wroclaw Oct. 15-16th

Category: ⚐ EN+architecture+ecosistema urbano

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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.

3. A model Code of Ethics for architects.

For more info: http://wa.pwr.wroc.pl

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Henan Haoshun Investment Management CO., LTD.

Category: ⚐ EN+architecture+ecosistema urbano

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Henan Haoshun Investment Management CO., LTD.

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.

October 8, 2010

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Arquitectura Parametrica, Participación y Cultura Libre

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“On growth and form”, D’arcy W. Thompson

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. continue reading

September 22, 2010

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ecosistema urbano at MAN MADE TOMORROW Conference, Oslo sept. 24th

Category: ⚐ EN+architecture+events

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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

September 17, 2010

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MAS Context: INFORMATION

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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. continue reading

August 12, 2010

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PROJECT ECO-DELTA: DESIGN FOR COASTAL CITIES

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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. continue reading

July 15, 2010

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Master’s Programme Relational Barcelona

Category: ⚐ EN+architecture

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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. continue reading

July 7, 2010

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AMUSEMENT is in context

Category: ⚐ EN+architecture

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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.

web: www.mascontext.com