[Originally posted to Where] Development, use, abandonment, reuse, demolition, redevelopment. Transition states. It seems that everything is in transition, but here I’d like to focus on the span of time between clearly defined places like factories and forests.

Development includes combining separate elements into new forms, like making something out of legos. Materials are assembled into buildings, which in turn form cities. This may fulfill a need or function based on reactions to things that came before. In this sense, new things embody the past.

When a thing no longer serves its purpose, it is often abandoned. At this point it can be reused in its current form, reassembled into something new, or destroyed. But it can never really be destroyed. Nearly imperceptible parts remain in circulation. They integrate with other things. They may haunt us in a way more tangible than the ways we haunt places. Smoke can be like a ghost that haunts us.

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[Originally posted to Where] Does it matter how a city or neighborhood looks? Many would say it does, though much less than, say, health or safety. So if it matters to some extent, what makes a place visually attractive? Are there any common characteristics, or is it only in the eye of the beholder?

Maybe “looks” is the wrong word. How about the way a place feels? This would include all the senses — the different variables that make an area appealing. Of course, people have unique tastes and I don’t know if there are any qualities loved by everyone. However, there are places generally considered attractive. They are usually in wealthier districts, but should extend to poorer communities as well. If we work towards achieving this throughout our cities, without displacing low-income groups, we might look back some day and wonder how we ever lived in some of the neglected areas we know today.

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The Musée d’Orsay is an impressive example of adaptive reuse. Originally a train station built for the the World’s Fair of 1900, the building proved not quite large enough for newer trains and was eventually abandoned. However, it was listed as a historical monument shortly thereafter, and converted into a museum in 1986. The interior design was led by Gae Aulenti, whose diverse body of work I really admire.

Photo by The Flews

Quoted from the Musée d’Orsay website: The history of the museum, of its building is quite unusual. In the centre of Paris on the banks of the Seine, opposite the Tuileries Gardens, the museum was installed in the former Orsay railway station, built for the Universal Exhibition of 1900. So the building itself could be seen as the first “work of art” in the Musee d’Orsay, which displays collections of art from the period 1848 to 1914.

Flip Flotsam is a very charming documentary about the production, use, and adaptive reuse of flip-flops on the coast of Kenya. It is brief and informative, with excellent cinematography and narration. I was particularly inspired by such creative use of discarded consumer goods.

Here is a link to Flip Flotsam on YouTube.

Quoted from summary of Flip Flotsam on Link TV website: Gathered from across the shores of the Kiwaiyu Island, flip-flops are carved into dolphins, turtles and mobiles, fueling a new cottage industry which provides precious income for many families.

Reclaiming blighted areas, also known as brownfields, in the Czech Republic has become an attractive business venture. It can also create more attractive  neighborhoods and reduce urban sprawl. Although brownfields often require decontamination, this is an important step toward restoring natural ecosystems and improving public health in cities.

Photo from Czech Business Week (CBW)

Quoted from “A Perfect Mess” by Martina Marečková in Czech Business Week: With opportunities for greenfield development becoming scarce, Czech authorities are increasingly switching their focus to the regeneration of vacant brownfield sites that no longer serve their original purposes.