May 1968, photo by Gilles Caron.

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…)

[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.

I’d like to add a detailed post on the ideas of Peter Kropotkin in relation to environment and planning. For instance, Lewis Mumford noted his influence on Ebenezer Howard, and Paul Robbins has described him as a sort of grandfather to political ecology.

For now just an immediate thought on anarchy: it’s interesting that the word has come to mean chaos, even though (I think) at root it just means without a ruler. Is it possible to prevent chaos in the absence of a ruler? Anarchy also shares a root with architecture. Different connections between architecture and rule never stop fascinating me.

Credits: Photo of Peter Kropotkin from the Anarchist Library.

The St. Petersburg Guide provides an unpretentious and informative overview of the city’s history through its distinctive architecture. Maintaining so many historical buildings beside a river prone to flooding must be a great challenge. The conversion of the Winter Palace into a museum is also very interesting. Apparently there are other former palaces and estates in the city that might be reused as well.

Quoted from the St. Petersburg Guide: It’s called The Winter Canal, and this is one of the most poetic corners of the “old St. Petersburg”. It was described in Alexander Pushkin’s famous “Queen of Spades”, and until now is the place for romantic dates of people who are in love. This place is especially lovely when seen from the water – when you sail either along the Moyka or along the Neva river in a boat and cast a look on the beautiful arch that frames the Winter Canal…

[Originally posted to Where] The Cooper-Hewitt National Design Museum is currently showing an exhibition on Tulou, an affordable-housing prototype designed by Chinese architecture firm Urbanus for the city of Guangzhou, China. The Tulou prototype includes 245 apartments, an inn, exercise facilities, a library, storefronts, and varied public space. The exhibition will feature two bedrooms at actual size, as well as images, models, and project information. It runs from October 3, 2008 to April 5, 2009 at 2 East 91st Street in New York. (more…)

The Economist Guide to Mumbai provides a great historical overview of the city since the arrival of the Portuguese in the 1600s. It would be interesting to learn more about the area prior to the arrival of colonial powers.

Photo from The Economist Cities Guide Mumbai

Quoted: Mohandas “Mahatma” Gandhi returned to Bombay from South Africa in 1915, and made Mani Bhavan the base for some of the key points in his long campaign to end British rule. He made his “Quit India” call from the Gowalia Tank Maidan at the base of Malabar Hill in August 1942…

The Information Exchange/Greenacre Reference Resource at the Municipal Art Society of New York looks like an outstanding collection of information on the urban environment, with a focus on New York City from the 1800s to today.

Photo appears on the Municipal Art Society site.

Quoted: Established in 1978 as The Information Exchange/Greenacre Reference Resource and affectionately dubbed TIE, the MAS reference library is a well-known and esteemed repository of materials on New York City’s built and natural environments. The heart of the library is an exceptional and ever-growing collection of several hundred thousand clippings culled from major city dailies as well as neighborhood weeklies, national periodicals, and local newsletters. Urban planning, historic preservation, buildings, public art, open spaces, real estate development, and zoning are among the general topics…