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2001 NU in NSW: 
New Urbanism in New South Wales receives a boost next week when Evan Jones takes over as Director of Sydney Strategy for the State Department of Planning. Jones, an urban designer, is well known in Australasian NU circles as the dynamic and diplomatic mover and shaker behind the success of New Urbanist approaches to replanning the northern growth corridor of Perth, Western Australia.  Dracula threatens Transylvania: 
A proposal being promoted by Romanian Tourism Minister Agathon Dan to build a Dracula theme park 500 metres outside the beautiful UNESCO listed mediaeval town of Sighisoara in Transylvania (right) has brought widespread condemnation this week. The proposal includes a new Transylvanian style castle containing tourist facilities, accommodation - ranging from camping to a 700-bed hotel - and would draw many of the existing functions away from Sighisoara, including the traditional Festival of Mediaeval Arts. Such an out of town development would inevitably start this region of Romania on the road to sprawl urbanism and the destruction of landscape. 
The director of the Mihai Eminescu Trust, a British charity which has been working on whole village restoration projects, argues that Transylvania needs small scale tourism - bed & breakfast, local museums and agritourism - which would provide income directly into the local economy. The Trust has been working for a number of years on a group of medieval Saxon villages which flank Sighisoara, such as Viscri (right), and will this summer inaugurate several houses which it has renovated for tourist letting. Charter Awards 2002: 
The Charter Awards were established in 2001 to recognise best practice in the world of New Urbanism. Very few projects manage to fulfill all, or even most, of the principles of the Charter of the New Urbanism, and the awards programme aims to encourage designers all over the world. The winners of the Charter Awards are those who have demonstrated that they do an exemplary job of following the principles of New Urbanism. With its focus on urban design, the Charter Awards are dramatically different from most architecture awards, which tend to assess buildings without consideration of context. The CNU Charter Awards assess plans and projects on the basis of their response to and integration with their environment and, consequently, how they improve the human experience of blocks, neighborhoods, and regions. Entrants are awarded points directly relating to the CNU charter, with winners reflecting the wide popularity of New Urbanist principles around the world. Awards went to Studio Bontempi for Fonti di Matilde (above right), Delphi Design and Development, Inc. for work in Managua, Nicaragua, and the Western Australia Ministry for Planning for their Liveable Neighbourhoods Community Design Code. Over 200 projects were submitted in 2001 (the first year of the Awards). For further information, or to enter a project for an award, visit the CNU's website. British Architects Support Prince Charles Shock: 
Prince Charles's call last week for British architects to avoid "taking... commercial macho into the realms of adolescent lunacy" by building mega towers within the historic City of London received suprise support from Paul Hyett, President of the Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA), it has been reported. The speech, at the Invensys conference on tall buildings held in London early in December, called for towers to be carefully integrated into the connected urban fabric of streets and squares, along the successful model of those constructed in Manhattan early last century. Tower blocks, the Prince said, were essentially cul de sacs in the sky, poorly connected to urban fabric and imposing an intolerable localised burden on transport and pedestrian provision. Their indiscriminate placement had the potential to "wreck" historic cities. (Right: Three generations of "improvements" to the London skyline: St Paul's Cathedral in 1930, 1960 and 1990. From A Vision of Britain) Relations between the RIBA and the Prince were strained through much of the late 1980s after the famous "carbuncle" speech, a criticism of the then-proposed extensions to the National Gallery. For those who missed the "turd" speech, click here to read the speech in its entirety on the Prince of Wales's own web site. KATARXIS: 
The world of traditional architecture and new urbanism received a boost this week with the launch of the first edition of a new online publication devoted to traditional, classical and vernacular architecture, and New Urbanism. You can have a look at the first edition of KATARXIS by clicking here but it will soon move to www.katarxis.com. PORTUGAL: 
A new traditional architecture and new urbanism school based at the Catholic University of Viseu, Portugal (right), opened its doors on 15 October with an initial enrolment of 15 students. The school, headed by Portuguese architect and INTBAU Steering Committee Member José Cornélio da Silva, will specialise in traditional architecture and urbanism. Ten Years of Modern Classicism: 
As part of the celebrations for the Institute of Classical Architecture's tenth birthday year just begun, the Institute is planning to include a comprehensive portfolio of projects in the 7th edition of The Classicist, the premier magazine of modern classicism. The aim is to illustrate the breadth of the Classical and traditional revival over the last decade. The Institute is also preparing a 10th Anniversary Exhibition and Design Conference which will be presented in New York in October 2002. The ICA hopes to include work from many hitherto unknown classicists and closet traditionalists. They expect to be able to publish about 100 architects or firms with a two page spread for each. The allied arts such as painting and sculpture will also be included. Click here to download the complete ICA call for submissions as a screen quality Adobe Acrobat (PDF) file. The file is large may take a few moments to download. The deadline for this call for submissions is 14 December 2001. If you worked on, designed, built or enjoyed a good example of modern classicism or traditional building such as this new villa in Holland ( above right, by Pim Hienkens), and feel it should be publicised, please contact either Matthew Hardy at the INTBAU Research Project or Christine Franck at the Institute of Classical Architecture in New York. Farewell Twin Towers: 
Photo: Michael Mehaffy The Regional Plan Association (RPA) for the greater New York area has announced an innovative community planning initiative to to stimulate discussion by business, labour and civic leaders of New York City and the Tri-State Metropolitan Region on the rebuilding of Lower Manhattan in the aftermath of the terrorist attack. The goals are both to rebuild the WTC district as a living memorial and as a proclamation of the Region's confidence in its future, and to help find solutions to the urban design, infrastructure, public safety and other issues which will improve the rebuilding process. Other WTC news... Meanwhile, WTC owner Larry Silverstein has consistently supported rebuilding at a lower height, similar to the rest of the Manhattan skyline, to avoid creating a new set of terrorist targets. This grim comment parallels world wide discussion of higher safety standards for emergency evacuation and fire safety of new super-tall skyscrapers around the world. Design schools fail to teach traditional skills Architecture and urban design firms in Britain are finding it impossible to find employees trained in traditional design, it emerged this week. Speaking at the Ninth Congress for the New Urbanism in New York, urbanist and author Paul Murrain reported great difficulty in finding suitably trained urban designers to work on inner urban regeneration projects and compact town extensions in Britain. The comment follows news that architect and INTBAU Steering Committee member Robert Adam has obtained the support of RIBA president Paul Hyett to write to Work Permits (UK), a branch of the Department of Further Education and Employment, advising them that traditionally trained architects could not be found in the UK. His office had recently been recruiting from Russia and the US where there were a number of schools teaching classicism and traditional building. Graduates with traditional design skills had found it easy to obtain employment in a variety of places around the globe. (Image: Fonti di Matilde by Studio Bontempi & The Prince of Wales's Alumni). The shortage of British graduates with traditional design skills is a growing problem, and one which is likely to frustrate attempts to regenerate inner areas in historic cities. British design schools, it seems, are not teaching their students the skills they need to do this work. "The narrow ideological position of many architecture and planning schools makes it impossible for them to respond effectively to overwhelming market demand for traditional house design", commented INTBAU Research Fellow Matthew Hardy. "British cities are likely to suffer in a future global economy where skilled employees are more mobile than capital investment", he added. Go Logo: Two recent developments in the UK reflect a government sponsored attempt by British architects to further the export of their talents. First, the British Council, a quango charged with "enhanc[ing] the reputation of the United Kingdom in the world as a valued partner", has curated a travelling exhibition seeking to promote the work of British Modernist architects including Softroom, architects of the Kielder Belvedere (right). In a parallel move, the Commission for Architecture & the Built Environment (CABE) has recently sought funding "to aid the role of British talent in the developing world" from Mexico to Morocco. NU for the UK: Debate over the future form of development in the United Kingdom continues to rage in a measured, British way on OpenDemocracy.net, a new UK based website devoted to discussion of topical issues. Debate started in July with an article by Jules Lubbock which attacked New Urbanism and called for unfettered development of the countryside. Call for Entries: Entries are sought by 15 September 2001 for this triennial prize which aims to reward contemporary examples of architecture which best illustrate the urban architectural principles on which the most beautiful European cities were based. The prize will be awarded for the sixth time in February 2002. The aim of the prize is to encourage the general public, elected representatives and sponsors to have high standards concerning architecture and urbanism. (right: infill project at Fornovo di Taro, Italy, by Studio Bontempi; a past winner ) Any project undertaken between 1998 and 2001 which contributes in some way to the improvement of the world of buildings, public spaces or the landscape, is eligible. The jury, which includes Maurice Culot, Léon Krier, Alexis Pontvik, Oscar Tusquets and others, will be particularly interested in work which is part of a coherent whole, in harmony with its surrounding, integrating local and regional details, and in general making use of durable, eco-friendly materials and methods. If you would like to enter a project please contact the organisers: NU for the UK: Debate over the future form of development in the United Kingdom is raging on OpenDemocracy, a new British website devoted to measured discussion of topical issues. Ten Years of Modern Classicism: As part of its tenth birthday celebrations, the Institute of Classical Architecture in New York is planning a special edition of The Classicist, the premier magazine of modern Classicism, illustrating the breadth of the Classical revival over the last 10 years. The ICA hopes that this edition of The Classicist will turn up people who are working in the classical and traditional idiom that they don't even know about. They expect to be able to publish about 100 architects or firms with a two page spread for each. The allied arts such as painting and sculpture will also be included. If you have a good example of modern classicism or traditional building in your neighbourhood such as this house at Poundbury (right), and feel it should be publicised, please contact either Matthew Hardy at the INTBAU Research Project or Christine Franck at the Institute of Classical Architecture. Doric by Numbers: A project directed by Professor Claudio d'Amato Guerrieri of the Politecnico di Bari in Italy has succeeded in adapting computer aided design and computer aided modelling (CAD CAM) to the production of classical elements from real marble. The project, titled Stone cutters of the Twenty-First Century: The 9/A capital replica of Apollo Epicurius' Temple at Bassai, has created a full size replica of capital 9/A of the decaying Temple of Apollo Epicurius at Bassai, which has been hidden from view by a protective tent for 15 years. Professor Guerrieri noted that the success of the technique suggests that in future, damaged components of historic buildings may be replicated in real stone at low cost and with a high degree of precision. Click here to view larger image. The technique also rasies the possibility of lowering the cost of new traditional buildings around the world. Complex elements such as domes, vaults, columns and mouldings might be readily prefabricated by numerically controlled machines. The team is currently seeking EU funding to further develop these techniques, which would create a significant opportunity to encourage traditional stone construction in towns and villages around Europe, preserving regional distinction and promoting visual cohesiveness. The team is currently seeking EU funding to further develop the technique. If you would like to know more about the Politecnico di Bari, or the CAD CAM processes involved, please contact either Professor Claudio d'Amato Guerrieri or Matthew Hardy at the International Network for Traditional Building, Architecture & Urbanism. Atelier Neumarkt Dresden 2001: Dresden, once famous as an elegant Baroque city, is today better known for the firebombing of 13-14 February 1945 described in Vonnegut's Slaughterhouse 5.
After the war a number of the city's major Baroque monuments were rebuilt by the DDR government, including the famous Zwinger Palace. But the Frauenkirche in the Neumarkt (right, before 1945), a masterpiece of Protestant Baroque architecture, was left in ruins until the mid-1990s, when an international appeal raised enough money to reassemble the stone which had lain in a blackened jumble for 50 years. The Royal Air Force raised the money to replace the gilded cross on the top, but the area around it remains unbuilt. Recent proposals for the reconstruction of the surroundings in a Modernist architectural style have met with dismay from local residents. Gesellschaft Historischer Neumarkt Dresden (Association for the Historic Dresden Newmarket), founded by the Berlin architect Rüdiger Patzschke and others, invited architects to join an international project to prepare designs for the traditional reconstruction of the Neumarkt in Dresden. A few well documented historic Baroque houses in and around Neumarkt are to be reconstructed to their original condition before the bombing of 1945. Architects participating in Atelier Neumarkt Dresden 2001 were invited to make design proposals for new traditional style buildings on sites in the surrounding area for which little evidence of the original buildings survives. Groups of architects visited Dresden in March to be briefed about the history of the city and the Neumarkt (right, in 1750), and to be allocated a site for a project. The designs were presented at a press conference held in Dresden on May 4, 2001, attended by members of Gesellschaft Historischer Neumarkt Dresden, representatives of the INTBAU Research Project who had assisted in organising the project, and several of the participating architects. HRH The Prince of Wales issued a statement which was read out at the press conference. Click on the link to read the statement in English or in German. Dresden Charrette, University of Ferrara Further information
If you are interested in finding out more about the Dresden exhibition or the Ferrara charrette, please contact the organisers: Prince's Foundation Changes Course London, Thursday 29 March 2001: Foundation CEO David Lunts today announced the closure of the Foundation Course in Architecture and the Building Arts, following a period of formal review led by Foundation Trustee Eileen Guggenheim. Mr Lunts noted that the Prince's Foundation is committed to try to cover much of the Foundation Course's programme with a range of initiatives now under development. Likely replacements include short courses, partnering with other agencies, and other initiatives such as Summer Schools, which were a successful feature of the Foundation's program from 1989 to 1996. The closure of the Foundation Course follows the closure of the Graduate Program in 1998.
Views expressed in articles are those of the author and not necessarily of INTBAU
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British architecture has of course been exported before. The verandah, derived ultimately from British knowledge of Mediterranean climatic responses, became a symbol of British colonial buildings around the globe, providing an agreeable shade in India, America, Australia and elsewhere. It could be constructed of anything from marble and granite to sticks and grass, and graced houses from mansion to shop (right, in Hahndorf, Australia). Anyone could design and build a verandah, and many did. They didn't have to pay a foreign architect for the plans.
Recent proposals to ease the housing shortage have included this ( above right ) neo-Corbusian tower block scheme by Marks Barfield architects for the Greenwich Peninsula, close to the failed Millennium Dome. 
There is more about the reconstruction plans, including pictures of the area and a masterplan, on the website of 
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