I’d like to learn more about these mounds. Building into the ground may be a good way of reducing consumption of energy and other resources. There are some videos about Cahokia mounds (near Saint Louis) here and here.

[Originally posted to polis] This is a postcard of the Hawaii State Capitol around the time of its completion in 1969. The caption on the back says: “Hawaii’s striking and unusual State Capitol is an unforgettable sight when illuminated at night.” Although this sounds kind of euphemistic, the building does appear striking and even beautiful in the photos I’ve seen.

Apparently, the architectural team (a collaboration between Belt, Lemon and Lo, and John Carl Warnecke) explained the building with metaphors from local geography. The reflecting pool is the Pacific Ocean, the legislative chambers are volcanoes, and the columns are coconut trees, with eight on each side to represent the state’s main islands. Even the chandeliers in the legislative chambers are representative (of the sun and moon, that is). My favorite part is the open center, as “it is said that the sky is Hawaii’s capitol rotunda.” (more…)

“Residents interviewed through the city said that the cries that they heard emanating from many collapsed buildings in the initial hours after the quake had begun to soften, if not quiet completely.” New York Times (Jan 15, 2010)

Earthquake response teams in Port-au-Prince explain that there is a 72-hour period in which people trapped under collapsed buildings can be rescued alive. We’re now at 67 hours. While there are still people under the rubble and homeless children searching for their families in the streets, it may be too soon to reflect upon the horrible aftermath of the earthquake in Haiti. However, after donating as much as we can and still feeling helpless at the sight of the images in the news, this may be the best time. (more…)

[Originally posted to polis] Do you have a favorite public work of art? Or least favorite? Whose work would you like to see more of? Or less?

Great public art doesn’t always share the qualities that are thrilling in galleries. I like Georg Baselitz statues, but I would feel uncomfortable viewing some of them in the presence of children and grandparents. At the same time, it can be uncomfortable when public art is boring or just not appealing. This is subjective, but it is also why thinking about public art is important — it enters the lives of many different people, few of whom have any say in the matter.

Not having a say can be good if it exposes us to delightful things we never knew existed. There is a hit-or-miss quality that keeps things interesting, as long as they don’t become static. To keep this from happening, maybe there should be some kind of periodic review for public works of art. This could be a chance for people who experience them to voice their opinions. If a piece turns out to be well loved, it could be preserved. If people are repelled or indifferent, maybe it could be moved to make way for something new. Allowing for a constant stream of work, and keeping the ones that fit, might improve upon the places we move through each day.

It’s nice to see interactive public art, with people stopping to look closer when they’re late for work, kids playing on sculptures, friends posing for funny pictures, couples hiding away, or skateboarders jumping on and off. Art doesn’t have to be social in this way, but it can be great for public spaces when it is.

Credits: I can’t remember where I found this picture of a skateboarder in Philadelphia’s Love Park, but I hope, since I’m not making any money, the photographer won’t mind that I post it. Please let me me know if you have any leads.

[Originally posted to polis] In light of Katia’s recent photo essay theme, here is a series from OEIL PUBLIC on an engineering class at Baghdad University. The school is described as “a place of peace and freedom where young men and women of all religions can meet without being subjected to the pressure of radical militias.”

Whether or not this is true, it’s interesting to see a different side of Iraq, especially after today’s horrific bombings. I wish I could know how these students process the upheavals of the past decade. How does violent change influence their studies and ambitions? Who do they look up to? How do they perceive their environments?

Walter Gropius was among the lead designers of the university in the 1950s. Hisham Ashkouri, a graduate of the architecture program, planned the campus expansion (above) in the 1980s. As another 30 years have nearly passed, what’s next?

The campus environment in the midst of a war-torn city brings to mind the inseparability of buildings and politics (for more on this subject, there is a thoughtful post about the banning of minarets in Switzerland on BLDG BLOG). I’m not sure how much influence professional designers have on the politics of development. People who build their homes in slums may have more. I wonder if today’s design students have new ideas about their place in the world.

Credits: Photos of students at Baghdad University by Jérôme Sessini. Map of Hisham Ashkouri’s Baghdad University campus expansion from Wikimedia Commons.

[Originally posted to polis] This post is about making places, from Watts Towers to attractive neighborhoods. It looks at different ways that artists participate, and whether they might help bring about an urban development that would make Christopher Alexander proud.

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[Originally posted to polis] After growing up with an image of Moscow as bleak and inhospitable, I was surprised to find so many attractive parks on my first visit to the city. According to the Moscow Wikipedia entry, here are 96 parks, 18 public gardens, and 100 square kilometers of forest. These figures come from a Russian government site that is currently not accessible, but they seem fairly accurate (please let me know if you’ve seen any good studies on this). The entry provides an estimate of 27 square meters of parkland per citizen, compared with 8.6 in New York, 7.5 in London, and 6 in Paris. Besides official parks, there are countless tree-lined paths, landscaped squares, and other plantings throughout the city.

It seems that crews of workers are always performing maintenance, although I’ve heard that parks are neglected in some parts of the city. Many have simple dirt paths that weave through dense foliage. It can seem like you’re in the middle of the wilderness, even though busy streets are never far away. Many parks have flowerbeds, ponds, benches, fountains, statues, and playgrounds. These additions are beautiful in the way of functional, durable, understated things. Of course, there are also grandiose structures from the past, but these are counterbalanced by views of birch trees that sparkle against deep forest backgrounds.

Moscow’s parks are highly accessible. They can be found within walking distance of any residential area, and on the metro, bus, and tram lines. My favorite is Neskuchny (Not Boring) Garden, which lines the Moscow River just southwest of Gorky Park. It has restful paths, a public amphitheater, and this statue of a swimmer facing the river. Neskuchny Garden leads to Vorobyovy Hills, where a majestic ski jump (complete with working chairlift) watches over the city. Izmaylovsky Park covers over 15 square kilometers. To give a sense of scale, Central Park in New York covers 3.4 square kilometers. Sokolniki, another expansive city park, borders Losiny Ostrov National Park, which has an area of 116 square kilometers (thanks again to Moscow’s Wikipedia page for these numbers). The Botanical Garden of the Russian Academy of Sciences is vast and multifaceted, with exhibitions, research facilities, exotic plants, greenhouses, streams, and old-growth forest. Moscow University has a botanical garden just north of the garden ring, which was built over 300 years ago as a source of medicinal herbs. Trees grow through the stone wall that surrounds it.

Parks in Moscow reflect the influence of historic ideas on urban landscapes. There are elements of feudalism, socialism, and capitalism. There is monarchy, anarchy, religion, modernism, and post-modernism. I think I will begin a series on the history of Moscow’s public park system. Each post could look at the influence of a different era: first, the rise of new ideas that culminated in socialist visions for the city; second, Stalin; third, Khrushchev and Brezhnev in Stalin’s wake; fourth, perestroika and the end of the Soviet state; fifth, economic crisis, recovery, and capitalist development. In looking at how different ideas shape urban landscapes, there may be lessons for improving the quality of life in cities.

Credits: Photo of Moscow’s Chistye Prudy Park by Peter Sigrist. Photo of a statue in Neskuchny Garden by trueol.

Originally posted to polis] Recent developments in Kibera and Dharavi, two of the most high-profile slums in the world, underscore the importance of including informal workers in planning decisions. In Kibera, a UN-backed slum clearance is underway amidst protest from residents whose livelihoods are at risk (and landlords who control informal real estate). The redevelopment plan for Dharavi has been stalled due to upcoming elections, as politicians appear reluctant to alienate the millions of voters involved in the economy it would displace. Slum redevelopment often exacerbates poverty when informal workers are not involved in decision-making processes.

Living conditions in slums can be improved without uprooting local economies. An international research network called WIEGO has been addressing occupational health and safety (OHS) in the informal sector. Through this initiative, researchers find out which government agencies are in charge of OHS and help informal workers open channels for dialog in policy development. WIEGO makes sure they have the resources for effective advocacy. OHS researchers also compile best-practices among government programs that have established successful workplace standards in informal settlements.

WIEGO is part of the Inclusive Cities Project, which promotes the representation of informal workers in planning decisions. They work with membership-based organizations in slums to influence municipal policy. Informal businesses are considered essential to poverty reduction, especially when accompanied with adequate infrastructure, regulation, and stimulus. If these businesses were included under effective legal structures, worker exploitation could be monitored and tax revenues used to finance improved living conditions.

Elinor Ostrom, Basudeb Guha-Khasnobis, and Ravi Kanbur have recently published a book titled Linking the Formal and Informal Economy: Concepts and Policies. It includes theoretical and empirical studies that identify close relationships between the two sectors. Understanding informal business as an integral part of a city’s economy could encourage legal representation, protection, and accountability. In addition, Ostrom’s research on commons, institutions, social capital, and human-environment interaction is very relevant to planning and development from within informal settlements.

Communities like Kibera and Dharavi have complex and active economies that can be included in legal governance. It’s essential for informal workers to have a way of protecting their rights and livelihoods.

Credits: Photo of a boy in Dharavi by Jonas Bendiksen. Photo of Kibera residents from The Gardian.

[Originally posted to polis] Picking up on Ivan’s reference to Gordon Matta-Clark, I’d like to consider relationships between art, power, and space. The term anarchitecture, as commonly associated with Matta-Clark, provides an interesting way of thinking about these relationships. In connection with a recent AIA event on art and architecture, it implies a sort of freedom from client specifications. James Attlee sees a response to high-modernist rationalism, as well as the foundations of a more iterative, collective, locally contingent approach to architecture. He finds that Marcel Duchamp, Jane Jacobs, and “self-built shanties” may have been important influences.

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