Comments: (0)

Making the Collective City: Reflections on Participatory Processes | Conference in Lisbon

Category: ⚐ EN+city+news

Participatory Workshop by Ecosistema Urbano

Next June 8-9th the conference “Making the Collective City: Reflections on Participatory Processes” will be held at the University of Lisbon, with João Ferrão and José Luis Vallejo as keynote speakers.

In contemporary society, a time marked by globalisation, social and economic instability, a weakening of administrative “capacities” and increasingly complex social dynamics, new actors are emerging to support the development of community initiatives. Within this context, the conference aims to promote debate and reflection on methodological approaches applied in Participatory Projects in Architecture, Urbanism and Design.

This international conference will be an opportunity to discuss participation in architecture and urbanism and its role in defining common practices, policy measures and urban management strategies, in order to respond to issues of urban governance and the social needs of inhabitants.

The conference will focus on two central themes: the theoretical perspectives on the co-production of cities, and new approaches and challenges for participatory processes. To add a practical note, José Luis Vallejo will be sharing our experience and approach, and the activities we developed during the last participatory projects we have taken part in.

Save the date! You can submit an send an abstract before February 28th 2017, or register until May 22th 2017. We recommment you to check the website, as some discounts may be available for early registrations.

Comments: (0)

X International urban conference “City 2016. City management” in Katowice

Category: ⚐ EN+city+ecosistema urbano+events

Salesiam Museum in Katowice - photo by

Salesiam Museum in Katowice – photo by Ziemowit Cabanek on Flickr

Next Monday, November 14th Belinda Tato will be giving the ‘keynote speech’ on urban social design at the X International Urban Conference “City 2016. City Management” in Katowice, Poland.

This event is organised by Jan Olbrycht, member of the European Parliament, and Think Silesia, a regional think tank based in Katowice. Participants will reflect on environmentally friendly cities, discuss the conclusions on Habitat III and the opportunities behind big data and open data.

You can see the event announcement and the program at the URBAN Intergroup website.

Comments: (0)

ecosistema urbano at ISU talks #3: Ruralism | international conference in Braunschweig, Germany

Category: ⚐ EN+landscape+news+sustainability+urbanism

Snoehetta_Petter-Dass-Museum_04

Next November 18th, Belinda Tato will be keynote speaker at the International Conference, ISU Talks #03: Ruralism organised by the Institute for Sustainable Urbanism. Other speakers include Snøhetta, OMA/AMO, etc…

The institute is located in Braunschweig, Germany and according to their own definition is part think-tank, part design laboratory, committed to promoting research and scholarship on sustainable urbanism in an international and interdisciplinary setting.

Since October 2012, ISU is lead by Prof. Dr. Vanessa Miriam Carlow, within TU Braunschweig’s Department of Architecture, Engineering, and Environmental Sciences. ISU has worked with partners in Africa, Asia, South America, USA, and all over Europe. ISU has four themes under which its teaching and research projects fall: Space as Resource, City in Society, Impossible Sites, and Urban-Rural Relations.

Here is a brief introduction to the Conference:

In the current city-centred discourse, rural spaces are often dismissed as declining or stagnating. However, rural spaces also play a critical role in sustainable development, as an inextricably linked counterpart and complement to the growing city, as extraction sites, natural reservoirs, providing for ecosystem services or leisure spaces.
The city and the countryside are evermore increasingly mutually reliant. A closer look at the countryside unveils a set of dynamics overlaying and changing rural space, beyond trends of depopulation and shutdown of public facilities. The once remote and quiet countryside is now traversed by global and regional flows of people, goods, waste, energy and information, interrelating it with the larger urban system, even bringing it to the frontlines of regional transformation and sustainability.

The conference proposes the following questions:
– How can the contemporary rural be conceived of and described?
– What new concepts for rural living currently exist?
– How are urbanisation and ruralisation processes connected?
– Can impulses for the design of urban space be drawn from the imagined and practiced connections between the urban and the rural?
– How can we formulate a (new) vision for ‘ruralism’?

More info

Comments: (0)

Ecosistema Urbano en HABITAT III – Naciones Unidas

Category: ⚐ EN+⚐ ES+city+eventos+events+mobility+news+urbanism

12109167_968327099898862_5359354295804962543_n

⚐ ES – Hábitat III es la Conferencia de las Naciones Unidas sobre Vivienda y Desarrollo Urbano Sostenible que tendrá lugar en Quito, Ecuador, del 17 al 20 de Octubre de 2016.

Dentro del proceso preparatorio hacia Hábitat III se organizan las Reuniones Regionales y Conferencias Temáticas que involucran a una amplia gama de participantes para debatir las prioridades de la Nueva Agenda Urbana y las recomendaciones políticas en forma de una declaración final.

La próxima semana tiene lugar la Conferencia Temática Ciudades Intermedias: Crecimiento y Renovación Urbana, en la ciudad de Cuenca, Ecuador. Ecosistema urbano tomará parte en dicho evento, moderando la Sesión plenaria sobre “Crecimiento inteligente: Movilidad, espacio público y sostenibilidad ambiental” el próximo Martes día 10.

El panel incluye a expertos como Francisco Arola, Cátedra UNESCO, Univ. Lleida; Horacio Terraza, Coordinator Emerging and Sustainable Cities Initiative, IADB; Adalberto Maluf, Director del Departamento de Asuntos Gubernamentales y Marketing, BYD Brasil; Jose Cañavate, entre otros.

Más información y programa

A continuación un extracto de la temática:

Ciudades Intermedias: Crecimiento y Renovación Urbana

Los procesos de urbanización y desarrollo acelerado de los asentamientos humanos dieron entre los resultados, a las grandes metrópolis o megalópolis, escenarios poco favorables en los que, a menudo, ha sido difícil alcanzar buenos niveles de calidad de vida. Sin embargo, también han puesto en primer plano a las llamadas ciudades intermedias como centros que acogen la mayor cantidad de la población urbana a nivel global y que son sometidas a continuos cambios en su “nicho” ecológico por su propia dinámica económica y social.

Es en este marco que estas ciudades, también denominadas como ciudades “secundarias o menores”, surgen como “intermediarias” no solo en tamaño y escala, sino fundamentalmente en funcionalidad. Estas ciudades sufren procesos de construcción y reconstrucción que no se equiparan a los trascendentes cambios sociales y culturales, que conllevará asumir también múltiples desafíos, puesto que es preciso “modificar lo existente”, extraer todo aquello que ha sido identificado como “obsoleto” e insertar nuevas estructuras de “soporte vital” para la urbe y especialmente su periferia.

Varios espacios hablan a nivel mundial del “poder de las ciudades intermedias”, como si de ellas dependiera encontrar una apuesta o alternativa a futuro para responder las exigencias identificadas para los próximos años, o si su pronunciamiento fuese una voz calificada a nivel mundial al momento de formular propuestas y soluciones prácticas que funcionen y sean asumidas como buenos ejemplos para alcanzar un desarrollo urbano sostenible en diferentes áreas geográficas y culturales.


⚐ EN – Ecosistema Urbano will be participating in an advisory board meeting next Tuesday,  November 10, in Cuenca, Ecuador, together with several other participants. The event is part of “The Urban Dialogues”, which host a series of e-discussions over the course towards Habitat III (October 17-20, 2016) with the aim of integrating all voices and bringing forward new and emerging thinking in the elaboration of the New Urban Agenda.

The Urban Dialogue on Intermediate Cities will enable people all around the world to join the debate, bringing together a broad range of stakeholders, as well as citizens, to discuss major ideas and issues of topic of the Thematic Meeting to be held in Cuenca, 9-11 November.

The online debate will provide inputs for the Final Declaration.

More info and program

Comments: (0)

Norway: Next Version | Lecture in Bergen by Ecosistema Urbano

Category: ⚐ EN+events+news+urbanism

Belinda Tato will be lecturing next Thursday,  September 11 at the USF Verftet cultural centre in Bergen, Norway, together with 8 other speakers.

Kollasj_620

The conference, organized by the National Association of Norwegian Architects, will explore the relations between the cities, the suburbs and the rural areas, trying to gather insights on how to make them more productive, locally driven and sustainable while preserving Norway’s own character and exploring new lifestyles.

More info (in Norwegian): www.arkitektur.no/kurs6

Comments: (0)

Travelling Ideas of Open Space Design and Planning | Ecosistema Urbano lecturing in Copenhagen

Category: ⚐ EN+events+news

World in Denmark 2014

Next June 12 Belinda Tato will be lecturing in Copenhagen at the 10th International ‘World in Denmark’ Conference, which is hosted by the University of Copenhagen and carries the title ‘Nordic Encounters Travelling Ideas of Open Space Design and Planning’.

The lecture, entitled ‘From ego-design, to eco-design towards network design’ fits among the proposed topics of liveability, welfare and democracy. Belinda will explain the office’s approach and experiences based on the projects we have developed in the Scandinavian countries and many other places across the globe.

Here is a brief description of the topic of the conference:

Landscape architects and urban designers from Denmark and the other Nordic countries have increasingly become exporters of design solutions to places like Beijing, New York and Christchurch, while Copenhagen repeatedly receives awards for its liveability. Nordic planning is often promoted as particularly human, ecologically sustainable and democratic.

However, looking beyond the immediate branding effect, what themes and values, methods and challenges are current in Nordic urban space design and planning in these years? Where are the gaps between imaginary and reality? How does the  nordicness relate to what is going on in other regions and cultures and what does it potentially have to offer? Which movements, paradoxes, conflicts and challenges exist? Where are the blind alleys? And how do these current trends reflect traditions of design and placemaking?

The issue goes beyond Denmark and the Nordic countries. It concerns what it means to intervene in cities and landscapes in a global era. What happens when western designers work in places whose local languages are new to them? How do general ideas about improving cities migrate and mutate, synergize and conflict in the encounter with specific contexts? What are the potentials and losses of producing traditions – such as the Danish or Nordic – in open space design and planning?

Interested? Check the official site and the programme (PDF)

Comments: (0)

Linz harbour: a city and a river | Identity City Lab workshop with Schwemmland

Category: ⚐ EN+events+talleres+urbanismo

Linz and the harbour area of the intervention - Google Maps

Three weeks ago (Juny 5th-8th ) we were in Linz, Austria, invited by Roland Krebs for a lecture and a workshop, part of an event called Identity City Lab, which is part of the Creative Region program.

The workshop, lead by local collective Schwemmland and Ecosistema Urbano, was aiming to provide some fresh insights and proposals about the eastern harbour area of Linz, a big extension of former ‘schwemmland’ (alluvial land) turned into an industrial area during the second part of the past century.

Some context

The area highlighted in the first image has been slowly fading out of the citizens’ imagination and become a ‘forgotten’ part of the identity of Linz. Tourist maps end right before the border of that area, which is still one of the most important connections of the city with the Danube and with its own history.

Tourist city map - Click to View PDF

Tourist city map – Click to View PDF

Nowadays, the area hosts an active industry and a working logistic transportation system by rail. Interestingly enough, it contains patches of different uses scattered between the industrial facilities: nature (even protected species live there); cultural or recreational zones like an airfield; private gardening and traces of former agriculture; restaurants and small street stalls that sell food to workers and passersby.

Despite the long decades of industrial activity, the 8 meter deep water in the north-eastern docks is usually calm like a mirror and crystal clear… although during our stay it was very muddy due to the flooding that had happened just a couple of days before.

A basin between the docks - deep, calm water forgotten by the city

A basin between the docks – deep, calm water forgotten by the city

Some of the docks were recently filled in order to continue the industrial development of the area, which raised some concerns but can also be seen as an opportunity for the city of Linz to re-think its relation with the harbour and the water.

Here comes urban development: filling at one of the docks

Here comes urban development: filling at one of the docks

Activities

The workshop started with a guided tour by bike around the area, which gave everyone a clearer insight on its different aspects and the opportunity to meet interesting people living and working there. Then we had a first work session at Schwemmland’s office.

Bike ride by the river

Bike ride by the river

This aerodrome runway is not somewhere in the countryside  - it's right at the harbour

This aerodrome runway is not somewhere in the countryside – it’s right at the harbour!

Traditional food stall between the office buildings

Traditional food stall between the office buildings

The rest of the workshop took place at the Tabakfrabrik, a ‘great’ (both ‘good’ and ‘big’) example of industrial architecture by Peter Behrens and Alexander Popp finished in 1935, which is now being transformed in a cultural center. Some light and temporary structures built of wood, textile and truss systems created a human-scaled space for everyone to work comfortably in the long hall of the second floor.

Working inside the Tabakfabrik, an amazing industrial building from the early XX century

Working inside the Tabakfabrik, an amazing industrial building of the early XX century

The participants, divided in small groups or couples, worked in quite different approaches, trying to imagine how the new industrial development that is planned for the area could be made compatible with some other uses or initiatives in order to bring that calm, clear water surface and its surroundings ‘closer’ to the city.

Outcomes

Despite the short time we had for developing them, there were some interesting proposals, so we ended up with a set of complementary ideas that will be presented to Linz AG, the company that manages almost every aspect of the city’s operation, maintenance and development.

An urban kitchen which could act as meeting point for the people working in logistics, industry, creative offices and artistic workshops and become a catalyst for activities, designs and actions on site.

An extension of the typical tourist map of Linz, making emphasis on a west-east axis, departing from the main square and connecting cultural facilities and lively urban places in a chain that would lead to Harbouria, a citizen-driven ‘city’ floating in the harbour.

Extending the tourist map and creating a 'urban life chain' from the center to the harbour

Extending the tourist map and creating a ‘urban life chain’ from the center to the harbour

Harbouria - a floating 'cuty' in the docks

Harbouria – a floating ‘cuty’ in the docks

A very critical, almost poetical approach, which stated that the spontaneous activities in the harbour area should be preserved without a direct intervention. They talked about what could happen in the spaces “in between” the planned uses such as industry. Could we respect these emergences without trying to plan them?

Explaining how to keep spaces of opportunity without directly pointing at them

Explaining how to keep spaces of opportunity without directly pointing at them

One of the proposals was to always keep a public fringe always available and accesible right on the border between the ground and the water. Simple to explain, but with very significative potential results.

And another one approached the place from the point of view of nature: letting the ecosystem take part of the docks back and creating a quiet and slow natural cycle inside the human hectic cycle of production.

We hope that the city will take these suggestions seriously and develop them further. The harbour is an amazing space where the city and the Danube really meet each other, and it shouldn’t be neglected as a potentially valuable public space.

Post in German by Roland Krebs, organizer of the Identity City Lab
Post in German at CreativeRegion website, with more photos
Post about the conference at CreativeRegion website
TREIB GUT magazine, publication about the workshop and our thoughts about the place

Comments: (0)

Velo-city conference and cycling awards | Vienna, June 2013

Category: ⚐ EN+mobility+sustainability

Vienna Cycling Cultures

Under the motto “The Sound of Cycling – Urban Cycling Cultures”, the Velo-city conference 2013 will take place this year in Vienna, a city that has been recognized for its efforts towards a highly livable and sustainable urban environment.

Velo-city conferences in general serve as a global communication and information platform aiming to address decision makers in order to improve the planning and provision of infrastructure for the everyday use of bicycles in urban environments. They typically bring together more than 1,000 delegates such as engineers, planners, architects, social marketers, academic researchers, environmentalists, businessmen/women, and industry representatives who join forces with government at all levels in order to build effective transnational partnerships to deliver benefits to cycling worldwide.

Velo-city Vienna 2013

This year, the conference has been organized in three generic themes: cycling cultures, cycling cities and cycling benefits. It aims to offer a variety of inter- and trans-disciplinary approaches to cycling issues through different dialogue formats such as round tables, speed dating, open spaces and a world café, amongst others. To ensure a relaxed atmosphere and to facilitate networking, there will be also other activities like a Cycling Parade, a Bicycle Fashion Show, a Garden Party and some technical excursions.

cycling visionaries awards 2013

In parallel to the conference, you can take part in the Cycling Visionaries Awards in the categories of Advocacy and Social Projects Science, Research and Development Design, Fashion and Cycling Equipment, Urban Planning and Urban Design Cycling and the Arts. We are curious about the entries, there’s quite a lot of innovation going on in the world of cycling but it’s not always visible to the general public.

On the conference’s website you can also read about some interesting cycling stories.

Date: June 11.14, 2013
Place: Vienna, Austria
Website: velo-city2013.com
Twitter: @VeloCityVienna

Comments: (0)

Media Architecture Biennale in Aarhus | Last days for registration

Category: ⚐ EN+architecture+events+news+technologies

Media Architecture Biennale 2010 - Photo by Wolfgang Leeb

On November 15th-17th leading architects, artists, scholars, and industry from all over the Globe will meet up in Aarhus, Denmark to shape the media architecture of the future, and to discuss how media architecture is about to change cities.
What happens when heat sensitive concrete ‘freezes’ the shadows of passers-by, or when a façade turns into a screen by means of thousands of tiny LED lights? What happens to architecture, people, and cities, when buildings turn into a type of digital media and allows citizens to communicate with each other in completely new ways?

Questions like these are increasingly relevant, as media architecture gains ground in cities all over the world. And they will be top of the agenda when media architecture experts meet up in Aarhus in November. Among the speakers will be media artists Ben Rubin, architect and designer Jason Bruges, Bjarke Ingels Group, Gehl Architects, professor of architecture Antonio Saggio, professor of media archaeology Erkki Huhtamo – and many more.

The biennale also features an exhibition, awards, industry sessions, workshops, an iPad compendium, and a gala dinner.

Media Architecture Biennale 2010 - Photo by Wolfgang Leeb

You can still register until 8 November 2012. Just a couple of days left!

More information:

Official website: mab12.mediaarchitecture.org
Social media:  Facebook + Twitter

 

Comments: (0)

EU lectures | Oslo & Copenhagen

Category: ⚐ EN+news

Next week we will be giving a lecture in Oslo and Copenhagen about our work, including the latest projects like dreamhamar.

 

Norwegian Centre for Design and Architecture

 

Oslo | 15.02.2012 | 19:00 h | learn more

Organizer: Architects Association of Oslo
Host: Norwegian Centre for Design and Architecture

 

Living Copenhaguen

 

Copenhagen | 17.02.2012 | 19:00 h | learn more

Organizer: Living Copenhagen project
Host: PB43 / The Tower

http://www.livingcopenhagen.org/about-php/