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"Ugly Paris" at the Grand Palais:
The six presentations were moderated by a panel consisting of Corinne La Balme, an American writing for the English language magazine Paris and a member of the Association de la Presse Etrangère; Michel Schulman, from the Association des Journalistes du Patrimoine, and Remi Koltrine, architect and chief editor of Paris Patrimoine), Dominique Alba, Director General of the Pavillon de l'Arsenal exhibition centre, Francois Loyer (art and architecture historian at the CNRS (National Centre for Scientific Research), and Gary Lee Kraus of the web site francerevisited.com. Corinne's plea was similar to her article Invitation to a wrecking ball, which cited ex-RIBA President George Ferguson's idea of preparing a list of ugly buildings that should be demolished. François Loyer, an art and architecture historien with the CNRS, provided a photo essay of numerous ugly buildings and an interesting brief account of Paris's urban development and the progressive watering down of planning guidelines. Dominique Alba, director of the Arsenal, an exhibition space for Parisienne architecture) was there and was generally sympathetic about halting the decline happening in Paris, but had no real solutions. She presented her thoughts on three themes: 'Pedestrian Paris', the way in which architecture and the use of the public space was in harmony in the past; 'Urban Regulations', consistency over centuries of rules for buildings and the persistence of the same system, including Height, or importance of obeying the rules and the impact of violations, and 'Gabarit', or the importance of the way in which the massing is articulated; and 'The New Urban Form’', talking about the disasters of the Front de Seine and l'architecture d'auteur or starchitecture. Kraus touched upon why the visitor wanted to see Paris and what they were looking for, arguing that it was not for the 22nd century architecture and planning. His general plea is that too much is being destroyed and that the new replacements should at least use sympathetic materials to those traditionally used in Paris: limestone, lime and plaster render, zinc roofs, and so on.
It also seems that the grande public believes that we must "move with the times". The Beaux Arts seems to carry certain negative implications - social and class order, rigidity, symmetry - particularly in architect's minds. A comment from François Loyer about Eurodisney's Val de Marne project was that the type of architecture appropriate to the region be used, not a direct copy or in competition to that of the central city. Nothing was mentioned about a transect ofdensity / forms or of the idea of the polycentric city. Bertrand Delanoë, Mayor of Paris, supports the highrises but not the manner in which Sarkozy is proposing to change planning law to exclude local government control (local town halls) particularly around the proposed new rail loop line and the redevelopment zones around stations.
New Urbanist Ray Gindroz reports that there was an extensive discussion of the way in which architects are selected, the role of politicians, the lack of public involvement in spite of the very negative feelings most people have about new architecture of the type that was illustrated; and discussion about particular incursions of inappropriate architecture in the traditional city, with several people chiming in on whether the Boulevard St. Germain was looking sad. Gindroz was the last to speak and noted that "there are two new radical avant garde movements in the US, England and Italy: The revival of traditional urbanism and the revival of classical architecture", and that "that many young architects and planners were joining them". He asked, "is there any such movement in France? If not why not?" The panel did not know, but two people from the audience spoke up, with one mentioning "pastiche". Gindroz quoted a Catalan urbanist who refers to the current building process as "urbanalization", a term received with general applause and good cheer.
Some interest was expressed interest in starting an exchange of ideas across the Atlantic and possibly a colloquium at some point in the future. Further information
actualites.leparisien.fr/bertrand+delanoe_paris_tours.html 
PFBE Building Crafts Apprenticeships Applications close 26 February 2010
HRH The Prince of Wales has highlighted the severe shortage of skilled craftspeople in the construction industry and the impact this has had on building sustainable communities. The decline of traditional skills worldwide poses a danger to the heritage sector, to new building construction, and to identifying with our cultural heritage and sense of place. The Prince of Wales’s Building Crafts Apprentices scheme offers talented, enthusiastic and committed craftspeople the opportunity to enhance their vocational skills with the design knowledge, work experience and coaching necessary to succeed in a career in the traditional building sector. Further information
Edith Platten
2010 Driehaus Prize winner announced
Manzano's work spans cultures. Mudéjar emerged as a style blending Muslim and Christian influences in the 12th century on the Iberian Peninsula. With expertise in this style and a command of the Western and Islamic vernaculars, Manzano has designed hotels and other commercial buildings, along with homes and residential complexes throughout Spain and the Middle East. His best-known work includes state homes for Chueca Goitia in Seville and Curro Romero in Marbella (now a Julio Iglasias property). His fluency in Islamic style is evident in his designs for a hotel in Mosul, Iraq, and a hotel resort and shopping district in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. A manor house for Faisal Hassan Jawal in Bahrain is currently under construction. Born in Cádiz, Spain, on November 6, 1936, Manzano received his PhD from the Architecture School of Madrid in 1963. His career has included building restoration, urban planning, and teaching, in addition to his architectural work. From 1970 to 1991, Manzano served as the Director-Curator and Governor of the Alcázar of Seville, a royal palace. Originally a Moorish fort, the Alcázar is one of the best remaining examples of Mudéjar architecture. While in this role, Manzano restored the al-Muwarak Domestic Palace, the residence of al-Mutamid in Seville, on the premises of the Casa de la Contratación (House of Trade). The Casa, which dealt with legal disputes on trade with the Americas, includes a chapel where Christopher Columbus met with Ferdinand and Isabella after his second voyage. Today Manzano teaches at the Seville Superior Technical School of Architecture.
Further information
University of Notre Dame Views expressed in articles are those of the author and not necessarily of INTBAU 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010
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The proposal for skyscrapers around the periphery was not touched upon in any detail, nor was there any discussion of the
possibility of new traditional or classical buildings. One brief comment was new buildings of this type were a "pastiche". Those present were perhaps thinking of the dismal attempts at traditional style from the large building companies, with their poor proportions, oversized and crude details made of concrete, and use of plasic or aluminium detailing.
The Prince of Wales's Building Crafts Apprentices scheme is an eight-month programme of applied study which offers building craftspeople the opportunity to enhance and advance their design knowledge and experience in traditional and sustainable building crafts.
Rafael Manzano Martos, a Spanish architect known for his distinctive use of the Mudéjar style, will receive the 2010 Richard H. Driehaus Prize for Classical Architecture at a ceremony March 27th in Chicago. The $200,000 Driehaus Prize, presented annually to a distinguished classical architect, represents the largest recognition of classicism in the contemporary built environment. 
Established in 2003 through the University of Notre Dame School of Architecture, the Richard H. Driehaus Prize honors the best practitioners of traditional, classical and sustainable architecture and urbanism in the modern world. The Henry Hope Reed Award recognizes achievement in the promotion and preservation of those ideals among people who work outside the architecture field. Together, with the $200,000 Driehaus Prize, the $50,000 Reed Award represents the most significant recognition for classicism in the contemporary built environment. Recipients were selected by a jury comprised of Richard H. Driehaus (Founder and Chairman of Driehaus Capital Management), Michael Lykoudis (Francis and Kathleen Rooney Dean of the University of Notre Dame School of Architecture), Robert Davis (Developer and Founder of Seaside, Florida), Paul Goldberger (Architecture Critic for The New Yorker), David M. Schwarz (Principal of David M. Schwarz/Architectural Services, Inc), Adele Chatfield-Taylor (President of the American Academy in Rome), and Léon Krier (Inaugural Driehaus Prize Laureate). 
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