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2004
Lutyens Losing Ground?
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The timing could not have been worse. The world Monuments Fund in New York recently named Lutyen's Bungalow Zone (LBZ) in New Delhi as one of the world's 100 most important endangered architectural sites. Then came the announcement that authorities in Delhi propose to 'redevelop' the area. 
New Delhi was declared the new imperial capital of India by George V in 1911. Sir Edwin Lutyen's designed 'acropolis' incorporated Secretariat buildings flanking the two-mile processional route up to the Viceroys' house (presently PM's residence) set atop the Raisina Hill. Lutyens devised a new style for the new capital, his own columnar order called the 'Delhi Order', and created something that was both impressive and original, so loved that the area has always been called 'Lutyens' Delhi'. 
While his grand monuments are iconic of Delhi, it is the white stuccoed bungalows with their gentle bow-fronts, colonnaded porticoes and shaded verandahs that give the city its character. These dignified houses sit in their lawns, set back from wide avenues, open boulevards and mature trees that arch over and shade the streets giving a particular flavour to New Delhi. The contrast with the overcrowding of old Delhi and indeed, the rest of Delhi, is profound. The houses have housed the country's leaders and much of India's elite - MPs, judges and retired army personnel, who pay peppercorn rents for the valuable and highly prestigious government-owned properties. Out of nowhere, the Indian CPWD (Central Public works Division) in their infinite wisdom, recently decided that these houses (over 1000 of them) had far outlived their usefulness, were falling apart and were too expensive to maintain. They proposed to demolish them and re-build modern apartments fitted with modern fittings and equipment 'to suit the changed needs of today's parliamentarian'! The presentation released so far resembles a 1960's modernist scheme. Thankfully, the architects and conservationists in the city voiced their outrage over this. Justin Huggler (The Independent) notes that this would be like 'levelling Mayfair in central London or demolishing Edinburgh's New Town'. In India, unfortunately, that there is no effective legislation protecting ancient monuments, no form of listing of buildings of the 20th century rendering most of her colonial architecture unprotected by law. 
Astronomically high land prices are another lure for more intensive use of the land. On the rare occasions when a bungalow goes up for sale on the open market, it can fetch between 200 - 560 million rupees (£2.5 - £7 million). I was witness to this when the subject of my thesis project at The Prince of Wales's Institute of Architecture, Diwan Niswas - a beautiful classical 1920s house set in its formal gardens and pools (within the LBZ) - was allowed to be razed to the ground to make way for '16 modern apartments'. Planning permission was not granted for the apartment development, but the house was lost forever. Within the last century, Delhi's population has rocketed, and a quarter of the residents live in slums, so understandably protecting her rich architectural heritage is rather low on the authorities' priorities. But can even they justify their callous proposal to demolish something beautiful and 'start fresh'? Environmentally, the proposals do not hold ground. Lutyen's Delhi occupies only 1.7% of the total area of the city. Designed as a garden city, it still functions as the 'lungs' of the city. New Delhi is unique in that inspite of suffering from a huge amount of traffic (2 million people travel through it) and pollution, the city centre is the greenest part of the city and the traffic hardly noticeable. Densification of this area would decrease the green cover leaving it with a very severe pollution problem. 
At the time of submitting this article, news arrived that the Prime Minister's office has issued a statement saying that the bungalows would NOT be demolished, and stipulating the strict enforcement of 1988 guidelines to preserve the LBZ, which prohibits any changes to the LBZ without the PM's consent.
Perhaps its time for me to start supporting the new party! 
Munich Says "Nein!" To Tall Buildings
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With global competition getting fiercer, many cities see investors' wishes for tall buildings as a chance to provide more office space and "iconic buildings". Very often, these plans interfere with the historic metropolitan townscapes - hence the on-going debates in London, Vienna or Cologne.
In Munich, the capital of Bavaria in Germany, the electorate has now had the chance of a direct decision about future tall buildings in their city. And on last Sunday, they voted that new buildings must not exceed 99m, the height of the towers of the famous Frauenkirche. Preceding the vote was a long argument. For decades, Munich featured only two significant high-rise buildings: the BMW Tower, well suiting the 1970s' futuristic Olympic centre, and the headquarters of the HypoVereinsbank, both in the northern outskirts. But in the last few years, a new generation of tall buildings was approved. Although the city centre has always been protected, the newly-built towers can be seen from the squares and axes which shape Munich since its past as a royal residence - neglecting detailed urban design studies. Moreover, the architecture was criticised as "simple glass'n'steel boxes" or "four-edged bolts". A truly unforgivable mistake was made with the erection of two simple glass slabs by architect Helmut Jahn, which block the classical axis of the Ludwigstrasse. It was the former Mayor Kronawitter who started a campaign against the new projects - and against his successor and social-democratic fellow party member Ude. His initiative achieved a so-called "citizens' decision", a special Bavarian law, which allows direct democracy on certain local issues.
The proposed global height limit of the Frauenkirche towers is arguable, but the defenders of tall buildings, uniting all major parties, the Chamber of Commerce as well as trade unions, failed to provide a convincing alternative approach. Instead, they started a costly campaign and conjured the economic decline of Germany's most affluent city. But on the ballot on November 21, the majority rejected two current projects and installed the 99m limit. The office market, by the way, will not be affected by the decision, as most of the new-build office space is still waiting for tenants.
The vote is a democratic challenge to other European cities considering skyscrapers: will you allow residents to decide on issues affecting the future appearance of their city, or are you afraid of what they might decide? London's skyscraper-mad Mayor Ken Livingston, for one, might care to consider a similar referendum before inflicting more tall buildings on the still largely low-rise city.
Hamilton's Hiring:
Craig Hamilton, a member of the ICTP and principal of Craig Hamilton Architects, is looking for an Architect or Technologist. The busy practice, located located near the Wales-Herefordshire border in the beautiful countryside of mid-Wales, is seeking an experience architect or technologist with good hand-draughting skills and an interest in Classical and traditional architecture. Hamilton asks those interested to send a CV and examples of work to: Craig Hamilton Architects LtdCooed Mawr Farm Hundred House Powys LD1 5RP UK Tel: +44-(0)1982 570-491 Fax: +44-(0)1982-570-492 Email: diana.hulton@virgin.net
Prince's Foundation Goes Headhunting:
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The Prince's Foundation has recently launced a new five year strategy. The new chief executive, Hank Dittmar (current Chairman of the Congress for New Urbanism) is starting in the New Year. Mike Mehaffy is doing a good job building the new education programme which is halfway through its first year and already delivering master classes and conferences. Speakers so far have included Bill Bryson, Charles Jencks, Chris Alexander, Leon Krier and Andres Duany as well as well-known scientists and journalists. Foundation Architecture Director Ben Bolgar explains that "this course, as it grows over the next four years, will be [the Foundation's] backbone and not only build a coherent network of professionals, organizations and alumni around each 'field' but influence which projects we take on as they need to link back to the education programme for case-study purposes."
Projects 
In the last year these have ranged from Cherry Knowle mental health facility, Sunderland (a new 250 bed mental health facility integrated with 800 new houses, business use and commercial activities, and conversion of existing Victorian asylum), the Newquay Growth Area with Leon Krier (1,200 new houses, a new Catholic church, healthcare services, 9 hectare business use, new primary school), the eastern expansion of Plymouth in the Sherford Valley (4,000 new houses, a new secondary school, 3 new primary schools, a new commercial high street, an organic farm, light industrial and business uses) to the expansion of Harlow to try and contain growth on the M11 Stansted corridor (25,000 new houses, 6 new secondary schools, 25 primary schools, a new commercial and business 300metre-long inhabited bridge, and 20 integrated 'urban villages'). At the end of this month the Foundation will be in Nelson, Lancashire to facilitate an EbD to try and save a large Asian community living in rather splendid Victorian stone houses with 3 mills on the banks of the canal — a stone's throw from the town centre — from demolition (see story below). In the new year the Foundation team will return to Northampton (where they have have a large project on site for 1,200 new houses, new primary school, mixed use square and commercial boulevard) to work up a master plan for the redevelopment of the town centre with the insertion of a theatre district. All this has growth has inevitably brought some strains, however. Bolgar commented that "as you can imagine many of our staff, who are already very talented, and then get high level exposure to a very interesting portfolio of projects, often get poached or decide to set up on their own on the back of some of the introductions they get with us", noting that "...it is very good news because we have a talented breed out there doing their stuff with the right intentions and principles and we are able to give them a significant leg-up in their chosen career path".
New positions on offer Those who feel that they might be appropriate for these roles should contact: Ben Bolgar Director of Design The Prince's Foundation 19-22 Charlotte Road London EC2A 3SG UK Tel: +44-20-7613-8500 Fax: +44-20-7613-8599 Email: ben.bolgar@princes-foundation.org
Heritage Campaigners Call for CABE Consultation: 
British heritage campaigners have warned the government against backing plans by the Commission for Architecture and the Built Environment (CABE) to radically alter traditional housing and places. The Secretary of Save Britain's Heritage, Adam Wilkinson, has spoken in front of a backbench MP's committee asking on CABE to listen to local people's views on their neighbourhoods before designing on housing market renewal. According to the 'New Start' weekly magazine, Save Britain's Heritage submitted a letter to the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister committee's inquiry. It mentions the "appalling social disruption" associated with demolition in the past, where the pain caused by the loss of familiar surroundings was "cruelly underestimated". It says this situation is being faced once again in the north of England through housing market renewal pathfinders, with CABE actively engaged in the process. 
Save Britain's Heritage also cites CABE's work with housing market renewal pathfinder Elevate East Lancashire on "potentially attractive" 19th century housing in Darwen and Nelson, as its major concern. In the submission it says that "these terraces are likely to be demolished and CABE appears to be supporting this initiative". Save Britain's Heritage warns that communities are not sufficiently involved and urges the pathfinders and CABE to consider local views. CABE's director of enabling, Joanna Averley said that "at no point CABE has been an advocate for demolition".
The Commission for Architecture and the Built Environment is a key agency within the British Government, in charge of improving the design quality of buildings, housing, planning and regeneration. For further details please visit: New Start Magazine Parliamentary Publications
CEU-UK: Following a successful forward planning session at the recent A Vision Of Europe conference in Bologna, Italy, and the establishment of CEU-Deutschland in Görlitz/Zgorlec last month, the Council for European Urbanism has now launched a UK branch. . It's early days yet for the branch, headed by Leeds-based urban designer Delton Jackson, as the fledgling organisation looks for a niche in the crowded British urbanism scene. 
The UK has seen the emergence in recent years of a host of organisations, such as the government's Commission for Architecture and the Built Environment (CABE), professional organisations such as the Urban Design Alliance (UDAL) and Urban Design Group (UDG) and initiatives such as English Partnerships, all of which advance urbanism in one form or another. Even the Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) has been dragged into the urbanism business in recent months, under the energetic guidance of President George Ferguson. In this crowded scene, it seems likely that CEU-UK will concentrate on popularising the call for better cities. Speaking earlier this month, Jackson said that "the CEU could play a very important role in popularising good Urbanism and Urban Design within a European context, which celebrates regional and local identity and diversity within that context.". Jackson envisages that CEU-UK could act as a "network of affiliates for design teams in the UK", promoting best practice. In line with this popular orientation, the organisation's first challenge is likely to be a charrette on the troubled Loughborough Park estate in Brixton, to produce a counter-proposal to link a series of proposed developments in the multicultural inner-London neighbourhood. Further details will be available as soon as they are known.
Email group
Further information
Delton Jackson
'Housing design will remain mostly traditional in the UK': 
A new study released in the UK underlines the need for a more collaborative method of work in designing and building housing. The study, undertaken for RIBA/CABE Building Future Initiative, also points out that traditional housing will remain predominant in the United Kingdom. Riding the Rapids concludes that architects will have to work more closely with those directly involved in the building process such as engineers, transport and land-use planners. It also suggests a closer consultation with other professionals such as economists, geographers, business leaders, social workers, psychologists, anthropologists and historians. In other words, the study encourages charrettes, an essential component of the New Urbanist approach to community participation. The charrette is an intensive collaborative design with the participation of professionals and local residents. The purpose of this type of consultation is to give the local community the chance to have a say in the developments of the surroundings they live in. The study brings to the discussion the intense debate between the traditionalists who emphasise the 'hard factors' such as communications, connections and location and the - often younger - members who focus increasingly on 'soft' factors as the key determinants of decision making. 'Architects would, for example, claim they are the ones who best understand planning in three dimensions but do they understand urban dynamics?', asks the report. The answer given is that those designing new housing work together in an act of 'co-creation'. 'More nostaligic styles will prevail' 
One of the key conclusion of the study, based on 30 interviews, is that the housing design will remain broadly in traditional lines in the UK over the next 20 years. It is likely that many cities, seeking to emphasise their difference from other cities, will increasingly commission the so-called iconic buildings to shortcut the way to greater status and recognition. Some may argue that in the past 30 years, only two genuine global icons have been built: Sydney Opera House and the Guggenheim Museum of Bilbao. The rhetorical question of 'On what criteria a building should be granted an icon status?' opens an intensive debate. The author of the study, Charles Landry, says the British modern national icons can be counted on one hand, and include the Eden Centre in Cornwall and the Tate Modern Museum in London. In the UK, 'more nostalgic styles are very likely to remain prevalent in housing', concludes the study. Nevertheless, the document envisages significant changes in Britain's urban environment over the next 20 years. As a result of the fall in marriage rate, 5 million more homes will be needed and many more 'iconic' buildings will appear in the big cities. More than ever London will be population magnet, draining resources from the rest of the UK. The news is rather bad for the so-called 'less fashionable' towns and cities such as Sheffield, Bradford, Castleford, Blackburn, Oldham, Rochdale, Goole, Rotherham and Barnsley, which 'will struggle'. The study concludes that only a radical solution such as the French TGV rail network would be able to limit the growing divide between the developed South-East and the rest of the UK.
Further information
High expectations remain unmet in New York: 
Image: Michael Mehaffy
A report published recently in New York by the Regional Plan Association (RPA) concludes that the civic community's high expectations for the rebuilding of the Downtown New York have not been met. The President of RPA, Robert D. Yaro says the recovery efforts, after the September 11th attacks, were truly heroic but little progress has been made in order to set new standards for public input, design and planning excellence or environmentally sustainability.
After September 11th the Civic Alliance outlined a number of goals and principles to be respected during the planning process. The recommendations were related to a more diverse economy in Lower Manhattan, a range of housing options, environmental sustainability and green housing design. According to the latest report published by RPA in September, these recommendations have largely been neglected.
The document underlines that "none of the official planning efforts to date have seriously considered the recommendation to change the program for the World Trade Centre site by introducing a more diverse mix of uses or reducing the amount of commercial office space located on the site". . The authors of the report say the document is meant to stimulate dialogue with the civic partners and help frame a policy agenda for the civic alliance in 2005.
The views expressed in the report are those of RPA. The authors say the output was influenced by working with the members of the Civic Alliance and by the comments made by the general public. The Civic Alliance organised many public consultations after 9/11 such as "Listening to the City" forums in February and July 2002 and the "How can $1.2 Billion best revitalise New York after 9/11?" event.
The civic group Rebuilt Downtown of our Town (RDoT) started to express fears two years ago that the community planning, based on people's needs, will be abandoned to the demands of the Port Authority and the developers. Surveys undertaken by New York Times and CBS showed that 53 percent of New Yorkers would be unwilling to work on the upper floors of the new super tall building, planned to replace WTC. Unfortunately — for the time being at least — it seems that the will of the city community has been defeated by that of celebrity architects and developers.
Further information
Sibiu nominated for World Heritage list:
The National Commission for Historic Monuments of Romania has announced that it will submit Sibiu's historic centre and its squares for inclusion on the UNESCO World Heritage list. Sibiu/Hermannstadt is located in the centre of Transylvania, not far from Sighisoara and other important medieval cities in the Siebenbürgen area first settled by 'Saxons' in the 13th century.
The city is Transylvania's best preserved example of Saxon colonisation, with many vestiges surviving from mediaeval times. The first steps towards the World Heritage nomination were made by the Municipality of Sibiu.
The medieval city of Sibiu was originally surrounded by walls and defence towers, some of which are still very well preserved. The third fortified walls were built in the 14th century and consolidated in the 17th century.
Three towers from the 15th century are located in the historic part of Sibiu: Arquebusier Tower, Potter Tower and Carpenter Tower. The last two are connected by a well preserved wall built in the 15th century.
Among many picturesque places in the city is the stairs passage, built in the 13th century. At one end stands one of the oldest buildings in the town, hosting the "Golden Barrel", the oldest restaurant in Romania. The buildings in Goldsmiths' Square still have medieval windows, doorways and turrets and are connected to the Small Square through a stairway from the 15th century. . There are many images and descriptions on Sibiu's excellent English language
website.
The city will share the European Capital of Culture 2007 with Luxembourg.
Concerns
This and other worrying developments such as the Dracula Park and Rosia Montana gold mine leave many people asking whether the recognition of Sibiu should be extended to the whole region. A conference, to be held from 13-15 November 2004 in Sighisoara, will address this issue. Further details will be published soon on this website. Those interested in attending should register as a free INTBAU General Member noting their interest in the conference.
Prince's Foundation appoints new CEO:
The Prince's Foundation for the Built Environment - the educational charity established by HRH The Prince of Wales to teach and demonstrate in practice those principles of traditional urban design and architecture which put people and the communities of which they are part at the centre of the design process - has appointed Hank Dittmar as its new Chief Executive. Mr Dittmar (right) has over 20 years' leadership experience in urban design and development, founding and managing not-for-profit organisations, and is a specialist in public transport-led development.
He is currently President and CEO of Reconnecting America, a non-governmental organisation which seeks to integrate transport systems with local communities. Hank also chairs the Board of the Congress for New Urbanism (CNU), a US-based organisation which campaigns for coherent regional planning, walkable towns and cities, and attractive, accessible civic spaces.
Hank Dittmar joins the Foundation at a time when demand for its education and consultancy services is increasing rapidly. This is due in large part to the huge urban regeneration agenda in the UK combined with a shortage of urban design skills.
"Hank's experience of growing a not-for-profit organisation, alongside his experience of new urbanism and sustainable communities in America, will further strengthen the Foundation's insight into how to learn from the failures of the past in both American and European cities and to create instead attractive, human-scale communities", says Foundation chair Alan Coppin. Foundation urban design chief Paul Murrain added that he felt sure that "Hank's incredible ability to found and make successes of non-profit organisations in the entrepreneurial environment of the US" would be of great assistance to the Foundation in a period of rapid growth in the organisation's activities.
Mr Dittmar, who will take up his new post in January 2005, said he was "excited to have the opportunity to take forward the leadership of the Foundation at a time of unprecedented demand for its services". Dittmar "look[s] forward to securing wider recognition of the need for civic planning which places the needs of human beings at its centre.". INTBAU wishes Mr Dittmar every success in his new venture and looks forward to continuing to work with the Foundation in future.
CEU Deutschland founded at conference in Görlitz / Zgorzelec:
CEU Deutschland, being the first national branch of the Council for European Urbanism, was established at a conference held in the twin town of Görlitz / Zgorzelec on 2-4 September 2004. The conference title "Stadtumbau+" referred to the on-going process of re-shaping many German towns with a declining population, and the CEUD (CEU Deutschland) was officially founded by the participants signing off the CEU Charter.
Among the highest profile speakers were Harald Bodenschatz, a sociologist of the Technical University of Berlin, who has gained great merits in introducing American New Urbanism to the often sceptical German academic world, and Thomas Sieverts, a senior planner and professor from the Ruhr area, whose book Zwischenstadt has raised awareness of the changing role of urban sprawl in Germany. The venue was well suited to the event, as the town on the Saxony-Polish border calls itself "one town in two countries". Görlitz features one of the most beautiful historic city centres of Germany, still being regenerated, and is re-building strong links with Zgorzelec on the Polish side of the river Neisse, which originates from a pre-war suburb.
The conference surely was a success in terms of gathering the German urbanists' scene and getting the CEUD established. But for many participants, the debate could have been more focused. "Stadtumbau+" could have been an exciting search for answers of European Urbanism to a pressing issue, but many of the lectures did not focus on this particular topic. Adding to the uneasiness was the fact that participants had to sign a Charter which had been agreed previously by a different body (CEU in Stockholm), so a lot of the discussions arising could not be integrated into the text. There will be, though, amendments and a preamble to the German version.
Thomas Sieverts met the thoughts of many as he pointed out that the Charter has to be much sharper in order to gain attention - rather than summing up features like density and the importance of public spaces, which already are common sense in the German planning debate. He also suggested to focus on one topic first instead of addressing all issues in all regions. As a next conference is to be held in Worms / rheinland-pfalz in 2005, it could be the chance to move the CEUD towards being an intellectual body rather than a class-meeting of the already convinced.
RIBA recognises Prince's Foundation:
The Prince's Foundation is the most notable new member of RIBA's Continuing Professional Development (CPD) Providers Network. The Prince's Foundation - the educational charity established by The Prince of Wales - aims to teach and practically demonstrate the principles of traditional urban design and architecture, putting people and the communities of which they are part at the centre of the design process.
The Princes Foundation's recognition by RIBA seems to signal the end of a dispute between The Prince of Wales and the Royal Institute of British Architects, which started 20 years ago. In 1984, The Prince of Wales was invited to address the 150th anniversary of RIBA, on which occasion he delivered a highly critical speech on the state of architecture in Britain. One of the most remembered phrases from that speech is "a monstrous carbuncle" used by the Prince to describe a new project designed for Trafalgar Square, in London.
Following these comments the Prince set up several educational institutes and ventures, all of them attacked at the time by the media and by some architects. In 1989 the prince arranged for some of his advisors to begin a series of Summer Schools. In 1992, The Prince of Wales's Institute of Architecture opened at Gloucester Road. Eventually all these ventures in architectural education were closed.
The Prince's Foundation, formed in 1999, brought together a range of the Prince's initiatives. Its educational programmes have so far escaped attacks from the press. Moreover, The Prince's Foundation will be offering RIBA-approved seminars and conferences designed to address the "skills gap" in urban design techniques, regeneration skills, sustainable development practices and the challenge of house building and affordability.
Joni Tyler, Head of CPD at the RIBA, told reporters he was "delighted" to be working with The Prince's Foundation, and that the initiative was one of many the Foundation is developing with the RIBA. "With talk about sustainable communities at the top of the design agenda, this will prove to be a very valuable partnership for the RIBA and our members", he added.
Michael Mehaffy, Director of Education for The Prince's Foundation, commented that the series was "aimed squarely at the urban agenda that RIBA President, George Ferguson, and others have identified. We think RIBA members are well positioned to step into the so-called "skills gap" in sustainable development that is such a hot topic right now. There's a real opportunity for architects to step in and serve as leaders".
The RIBA Continuing Professional Development (CPD) Providers Network was launched 10 years ago. Since then the network has grown to a consortium of over 400 companies, all providing low cost, RIBA assessed professional development courses to the construction industry. The Prince's Foundation is one of 40 new companies joining this year.
Further information
'Coup' in Viseu?:
The highly regarded Viseu school appears to have been experiencing difficulty for some time and last year there were complaints that it was unable to obtain basic necessities from the University authorities. . The dispute came to a head at the end of the last academic year with the shock resignation of da Silva. This followed shortly after a successful international conference on architectural education in the 21st century that produced the Council for European Urbanism's acclaimed Declaration of Viseu of May 2004.
At the first meeting of the new academic year, faculty report that they were "surprised" to find that they had a new Director of the Architecture school in the person of well-known Portuguese modernist Antonio Reis Cabrita, and a group of 13 new professors all reportedly drawn from Portugal's modernist architectural establishment. Former Viseu lecturer Lucien Steil describes the take-over as "a real cultural colonisation" by architects from Porto, though he notes that "the people from the Beiras [region] are reputated for their strength and tenacity". Local figures opposing the move reportedly include President of the local Order of Architects José Esteves, the Mayor and Director of Planning of the City of Viseu, and many other city notables.
The group reportedly arrived with a new curriculum, schedules, and all the bureaucratic work in place. When the new curriculum was rejected by indignant members of the existing faculty, a faculty member reported that the group became "confrontational and argumentative". A faculty member reports that,. "They told us that they had instructions to change the school in every aspects, from the practical to the philosophical".
The apparent 'coup' is difficult to comprehend as the Portuguese Catholic University is well known for its humanist and free-thinking principles and values. "We could expect this everywhere but at this institution", a faculty member said.
Traditionalist teaching staff at Viseu have not yet thrown in the towel, but they have appealed for the support of lovers of traditional architecture in what is certain to be a very difficult battle to fight.
"We don't have any problems with the share of ideas inside the School - that's healthy - but a radical change like this is a great mistake, as we loose a lot of work already done (and with so [much] success) and the possibility of a new perspective of the way of teaching and doing architecture and urbanism, giving the students and people the possibility of choice - that's democracy, that's the civic and cultivated attitude", says José Baganha, a distinguished architect and member of the INTBAU College of Traditional Practitioners (ICTP).
Further information
Supporters of the New School of Architecture & Urbanism in Viseu have asked that you send a fax with your protest to the Dean of the Catholic University of Portugal, Prof. Dr. Manuel Braga da Cruz, at the following address:
Reitor Braga da Cruz
Update 21 September 2004
Trouble On London Buses:
Londoners are outraged this month over a unilateral decision by Transport for London to remove all remaining Routemaster buses in the next 12 months, despite many of the 50-year-old vehicles being recently renovated and in full working order. Their replacement will be sprawling low-rise 'bendy' buses with significantly less seating.
Much favoured by Londoners for their speed and manouvereability, the Routemaster is a traditional design developed over 150 years from horse-drawn prototypes. A paradigm of traditional design, the Routemaster of 1954 represents a continuing process of refinement that produced an almost perfectly clean and orderly interior with clear visibility, excellent ventilation, comfortable seats and durable finishes, all within a minimal external envelope.
The Routemaster's one drawback is that it cannot take wheelchairs. However, disabled rights activists have not campaigned against them because they believe that having a conductor on board provides help and assistance for many other categories of disabled and frail passenger. They also know that the ramps on newer buses are not maintained and rarely work.
Routemasters have a light and durable aluminium body, rendering them more fuel efficient than modern buses. . The hard-wearing metal and melamine interiors can be renovated many times, unlike the cheap plastic interiors of modern buses. The original cost has been amortised many times over their 50 year life.
Their replacements are an epitome of modernism: cheap, slick, using brightly coloured indurable materials in a garish design which will not mature with grace. Unsupervised by conductors, with many illogical corners and awkward seats, modern buses are rapidly vandalised despite CCTV and soon become unpleasantly soiled. Their huge windows and tiny ventilation openings make the interiors hot and stuffy in even mild weather. Worse, the large openings produce a body lacking rigidity, in which the front windows soon flex and leak.
Worst of all is Transport for London's arrogance in introducing this change without consultation or any real attempt to establish public opinion. All TfL spokesman Graham Goodwin offered to reporters was the archetypal modernist argument that "...this is the 21st century, and the city needs a 21st century transportation system". Such recursive nonsense has not convinced Londoners, who know that their Routemasters are both renowned tourist symbols of London and a practical means of getting about the city's crowded and narrow streets.
Even if you don't like Routemasters, imagine a London with no double-decker buses. One of the few places where one can contemplate life is on the upper deck of a London bus. Here for a moment you can step up above the teeming streets and watch the world go by.
Further information
An online petition to save the Routemaster is available here. You could contact Transport for London and tell them you insist that they keep the Routemaster in service. Details of how to contact them are here or use TfL's feedback form to register your protest.
You can write to the Ken Livingstone, Mayor of London, at City Hall, London SE1 2AA, UK, or email him at mayor@london.gov.uk. You mayalso telephone the Mayor's public liaison line on +44-(0)20-7983-4100, but please be polite.
ICA&CA looking for student drawings:
Design for new town hall for the city of Elgin, Illinois. Nate Brooks, Judson College 2003
The Institute of Classical Architecture & Classical America (ICA&CA) is currently working on its yearly publication due for release early next year. At this time, the editors are looking for student entries to include in our Academic Portfolio section of the Classicist 7. It has been decided that the projects submitted should not only be traditional/classical in nature, but also addressing design issues as they relate to the urban fabric.
"We have been able to compile a substantial amount of student work from the usual suspects, i.e. University of Miami, University of Notre Dame, and ICA, and are very interested in receiving entries from students in other programs around the world", says editor Elisa Cuaron.
As with all projects of this nature, deadlines are crucial, and for this reason, ICA&CA would like to receive entries no later than Friday 1 October 2004. This publication represents an invaluable opportunity for students to see their work come to life outside the classroom. Moreover, it is also a good means to see different schools represented outside the academic environment.
Further information
Philippe Rotthier Prize 2004-2005: Previous winner of the Prix Philippe Rotthier.
Architects and urban designers with completed urban renewal schemes in Europe should register now with the Fondation pour l'Architecture in Belgium in order to receive information about the forthcoming Philippe Rotthier Prize. France-Marie Gonay of the Fondation has advised INTBAU that information and application packs will be ready by September-October this year, and that applications must be received by no later that 15 April 2005.
Set up in 1982 by the architect Philippe Rotthier, this triennial architectural prize is one of the rare prizes that rewards projects that consciously identify with the traditional concept of the town or city as seen through European eyes. The prize has a twofold objective : on the one hand, to draw attention to contemporary urban architectural work which is often ignored by critics and the specialised press and, on the other hand, to raise the expectations of the public, elected representatives and sponsors.
The Fondation pour l'Architecture organises this prize and arranges exhibitions and publications devoted to the winning projects which are selected by a jury composed of European personalities from the world of art and architecture.
Previous prize winners are: Manuel Manzano-Monis, Quinlan Terry (1982); Abdel-Wahed El Wakil, Jean-Pierre Errath, Manuel Iñiguez & Alberto Ustarroz, Ernst Schirmacher, Pompeo Trisciuoglio (1987); Javier Cenicacelaya & Iñigo Salona, Piotr Choynowski, Robert De Gernier, Demetri Porphyrios (1992); Jacques Leccia & Christian Parra, Guy Montharry, Pierre Sicard & Michel Authié, Daniel Staelens (1995); François Spoerry, Société Immobilière de Mayotte, Pier Carlo Bontempi (1998); Eusebio Leal Spengler (2002).
Further information
New Urbanism and Beyond:
The first New Urbanism and Beyond summer course on New Urbanism will be held in Stockholm, Sweden, from 4-8 October 2004. The course will feature the highest-profile faculty of any such course ever offered, including Andres Duany, Peter Calthorpe, Professor Sir Peter Hall, Professor Jan Gehl, Paul Murrain and many other leading figures. Organised by the Ax:son Johnson Foundation, Royal College of Technology Sweden (KTH), the Summer University of Southern Sweden, The Embassy of the USA in Stockholm, and supported by INTBAU.
The aim of this course is to give a comprehensive overview of the state of the art in planning and urban design today. New Urbanism is a growing international movement to reform the design of the built environment, that aims to improve the quality of life and raise the standard of living by creating better places to live. The course also aims at giving a better understaning of how cities can thrive in the modern era.
The idea of New Urbanism as an antithesis of the disperson, alienation and urban sprawl will be thoroughly analyed in the course, both pros and cons. Concern about urban sprawl in the USA and Europe will be coupled with an examination of the pressing issue of urban inequality. Rampant development on the periphery of cities - edge cities, satellite towns, etc - linked with disinvestment in older urban centres and cores presents a destructive and unsustainable combination. New Urbanism has played an important role in contributing to the increasing awareness of the subtleties of the design and planning of traditional towns.
Further information
Read more about the summer school 2004 on our courses page...
Call for Competition Classics:
The Classicist, the journal of the Institute of Classical Architecture & Classical America, seeks to publish traditionally or classically-inspired entries from recent design competitions. Entries need not have won or placed: the editors are interested in seeing all proposed solutions to competition challenges. Entrants can be from any country. This is a chance for your design work to have a second life, in the pages of this award-winning journal.
Further information
Schinkel Back in Berlin: Canvas model of Schinkel's Academy of Architecture built in Berlin.
The organisation promoting the reconstruction of Karl Friedrich Schinkel's Architecture School in Berlin (1836) has constructed a full-sized, on-site model made of canvas and scaffolding. The model will stand on the site for several years. Inside is an information center for the reconstruction project and the plans for an international, tradition-oriented architectural think-tank in the future building, headed by architect Professor Hans Kollhoff.
At the official opening a few days ago, the reconstruction effort was supported by representatives of the City of Berlin. The above image shows in the background the East German "Palace of the Republic" (1976) which it is intended will be demolished and replaced by a reconstruction of the Royal Palace, itself re-erected in scaffolding and canvas several years ago pending a decision on the reconstruction.
Further information
Old Buildings Work:
The Select Committee of the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister published its 11th Report, 'The Role of Historic Buildings in Urban Regeneration', on 29th July.
The report strongly endorses the positive contribution of the historic environment to urban regeneration 'There was overwhelming evidence' it states in the opening sentence, 'that improving the environment and securing the reuse of buildings which have historic value can make an important contribution to the regeneration of the urban areas'. The report goes on to specify the wider benefits to the sense of community, the local economy and as a catalyst for improvement to the wider area.
Many of its points are underpinned by evidence from the numerous historic environment bodies which gave evidence including a wide range of voluntary bodies. The input of Building Preservation Trusts is also recognised and supported. These 'perform an important role in bringing back into use neglected buildings which the private sector are not interested in. They are severely short of money particularly in terms of core revenue funding. The Government needs to review the level and nature of funding to the trusts'.
To maximise the benefits to local regeneration, the report recommends strong leadership by local authorities with the appropriate skills, clear guidance and commitment from public agencies at a national and regional level, an easily understood flexible regulatory framework which encourages creativity and allows new uses for redundant historic buildings and adequate and easily accessible funds to support commercial schemes at the margins of viability.
On VAT (Value Added Tax), it gives a wonderfully clear message 'The current arrangements fail to support the Government's sustainability agenda and can encourage bad practice' furthermore that the differential rate 'runs counter to the Government's sustainability agenda and its policy on promoting the reuse of historic buildings'. It recommends that 'The tax system needs to favour the preservation and reuse of historic buildings rather than deter it'. This public acknowledgement of so much that the sector has been campaigning for is very welcome and we look forward to the recommendations being translated into policy.
The report goes further, too, in criticising the infrastructure of public bodies concerned with the environment. In particular it says that the ODPM and DCMS are not working together closely enough recommending that 'the protection of historic buildings should be better integrated within the planning system. This would require the transfer of the responsibility for the historic environment form the DCMS to the ODPM'. It censures the DCMS for not giving sufficient priority to its historic buildings remit and notes conflict between the DCMS two Non Departmental Public Bodies, English Heritage and the Commission for the Built Environment. All these comments lend weight to a Government review of heritage bodies.
Conservation or Devastation:
SAVE Britain's Heritage long running campaign to secure the future of Smithfield Market, London, possibly 'the finest group of market buildings in the country', is still in the balance. The redevelopment plans are now out for consultation and SAVE is looking to hear from people and organisations willing to offer moral support for the campaign.
SAVE's website recommends that you write letters and cards to national and local politicians. Suggested recipients are Peter Wynne Rees, Planning Officer, City of London; E. T. Hill, Surveyor, City of London; Ken Livingston, Mayor of London and Lord McIntosh, Minister for Heritage. You can also email SAVE on Smithfield@savebritheritage.plus.com and let them know that you would be willing to comment on the redevelopment plans.
Alarm Grows Over Monumental Move:
Recent reports suggest that a storm is brewing in the South over a proposal to sell a triangle of land to a developer. Not an unusual sale perhaps, but the land happens to contain a monument to the athletes who participated in the 1996 Olympic Games, that has since become a much-loved local landmark.
In this special report exclusive to INTBAU, the monument's designer Anton Glikin speaks of his unease at the proposal:
A competition was run at the Prince of Wales's Institute of Architecture in 1995 to design a neoclassical monument in Atlanta to commemorate the 1996 Olympic Games. The award was won by the artist and architect Anton Glikin, an alumnus of the PoWIA and the monument is now famous in the southern states of America. In honour of the Prince of Wales it is known as "The Prince's Monument". Now there has been a suggestion that the monument will be dismantled and the land commercially redeveloped and there has been loud public outcry deploring this in the US.
The land on which the monument stands belongs to The Department of Transportation (DOT) Georgia. DOT lent it to The Prince Of Wales's Foundation of Architecture on a free-of-charge basis. However, the POWFA-DOT agreement specified that should the monument's site be ever needed for a PUBLIC purpose, the monument would be relocated elsewhere.
Situated in an area of urban decay, it was believed that the monument would help regenerate the area and would never be moved. Two thirds of the funds were raised from the UK donors, including The Prince of Wales himself and one third was raised from the US. Some American contractors donated their services. The great interest and popularity that accompanied the Prince's Monument has resulted in the spectacular regeneration of the entire area. Ironically it is this rise in real estate values that now means that the monument may be moved to make way for a development of offices. What is now being proposed is commercial usage of the site as opposed to one that is exclusively for public benefit.
Atlanta is a modern metropolis, which is developing dynamically and is now one of the fastest growing cities in the US. Although there is some historic architecture in Atlanta the city's centre is largely modern. Therefore the neoclassical Prince's Monument surrounded by such a modern urban environment immediately became popular not least, because the monument was associated with the British monarchy.
From 1996 onwards the Prince's Monument received a wide coverage in the press including in the Financial Times, The New Yorker and Izvestia. Additionally, it is now favored by TV reporters as a broadcasting site and by the public as a place to walk and socialise. In 2000 it won The US Award for Best Piece of Public Art. When The Princess of Wales and The Queen Mother died many people came to the monument to express their feelings of sorrow at their deaths. Poignantly it served a similar commemorative purpose following 9/11.
Not only is the change of land issue worrying, but there are also serious concerns for the well being of the monument itself if it is dismantled and reassembled. Great damage would certainly result to this beautiful structure that has in such a short time become a valid and admired landmark in Atlanta.
Dresden Rises Again:
Above, the famous skyline from the river Oder.Images courtesy Technical University of Dresden
The recent placement of the gilded cross on top of the dome of the Frauenkirche, in Dresden (right) has marked the end of 59 years during which the city languished without its crowning dome. The dome now rises to its original height of over 100m, equal to that of St Paul's Cathedral in London or more that half as high again as the dome of the US Capitol.
Dresden was famous for its Baroque palaces, churches and town houses. The Allied raid that destroyed the city in February 1945 remains controversial, with recent books arguing both for and against the raid, which left between 35,000 and 45,000 people dead. Arguments will continue, but meanwhile the Frauenkirche has risen again in a remarkable feat of reconstruction. As part of this effort, the cross which now crowns the building is a gift of the Royal Air Force and was crafted by Alan Smith, the son of one of the pilots who carried out the raid.
The completion of the church closes a remarkable history of persistence, fund raising and meticulous reconstruction. Honours for persistance go to the citizens of the city of Dresden, who opposed the clearance of the rubble during 45 years of DDR government, during which time many of the other monuments were repaired. Honours for fund raising are due to those charities around the world that raised the huge sum necessary for reconstruction, including Wiederaufbau Frauenkirche Dresden (Dresden Trust), Friends of Dresden, and others.
INTBAU this week honours Professor Dr.-Ing. Wolfram Jäger of Jäger Engineer GMBH, chief engineer for the reconstruction. Working with architect Thomas Gottschlicht, Professor Jäger's expertise has ensured that this traditional masonry building complies with modern regulations for wind load and earthquake resistance. The feat is all the more remarkable for the fact that the rebuilding includes 30% of original stones, carefully identified in the mound of rubble and replaced in their original positions in the building. Sophisticated computer modelling was used to determine the collapse mode and original location of the stones, and to calculate the forces on the newly reconstructed building.
Speaking in Dresden, Professor Jäger said:
Professor Jäger has accepted a position on the INTBAU Committee of Honour, the august advisory body that supports INTBAU's Board and Management Committee.
Update on Neumarkt Reconstruction:
At a packed public meeting on 26 June, investors presented their proposals for the reconstruction of a number of buildings and plots in the Neumarkt, the area surrounding the Frauenkirche in Dresden. Gesellschaft Historischer Neumarkt Dresden e. V. (GHND, or Society for the Historic Dresden Neumarkt) presented their proposal for the archaeological reconstruction of the building at 29 Rampische Straße (right and below). GHND have set up a charitable trust and are seeking donations towards the rebuilding of this Leitbau (key building) which they hope to have under way by mid 2005. Those wishing to contribute to this worthy cause should visit the website of this charitable organisation.
Developers Prisco showed their Quartier an der Frauenkirche project, plans for which have been developed over the last year. The project, to be built by Arturo Prisco and Kai von Döring, includes the reconstruction of another key building (the Weigelsches Haus) and of adjoining facades. More controversial is the use of a number of bland modernist facades, though the elevations are generally well scaled and inoffensive. However, many of the other buildings formerly on the site are well documented and could easily be reconstructed at least in facade.
Other developers showing projects included V. V. K. (Quartier II An der Frauenkirche/Rampische Straße) and Baywobau (Frauenkirche/Landhausstraße/Moritzstraße & the underground carpark currently under construction under part of the Neumarkt). Architects presenting plans included Wolfgang Hänsch (showing plans for a reconstructed Kulturpalast with new urban facades) and noted Classicist Professor Hans Kolhoff, whose Sachsenbau in Chemnitz, a new shopping centre with Renaissance arcade fronting the square, has attracted much acclaim.
Plans for the site presented showed a clear preference for traditional architecture, with a limited extent of very polite modernism. All schemes retained the original street pattern and volumes of the original buildings. However, the depressed state of the German economy, particularly in the East, is likely to make any building in the Neumarkt area a slow process.
Further information
War over the Altar of Peace:
Above, Meier's project, now under construction.Image courtesy Comune di Roma
The latest protest against Richard Meier's building to house the Ara
Pacis (which is nearly complete) occurred shortly after noon on 10 June.
Historian and art critic Vittorio Sgarbi, founder of Il Partito Della Bellezza (the Party for Beauty) burned a model of Meier's building near the Mausoleum of Augustus. The timing of this protest was doubtless deliberate, as Sgarbi was a candidate in the European elections, which occured on the following weekend. Nevertheless, Sgarbi is one of many who have opposed the Meier project since its inception last century.
Studies regarding the re-urbanization of the Piazza Augusto
Imperatore, created during the Fascist era through the demolition of many buildings, have been proposed since the mid eighties. Many of these have included a new building to protect the Ara Pacis, to replace the dilapidated Padiglione Morpurgo, which was built for Hitler's visit to Rome in 1939.
Since Meier's project was commissioned, without the competition required by legislation, there have been many counter-proposals both professional and academic, many of which are traditional. Gabriele Tagliaventi published some of these projects in Archi e Colonne 5, and in 2002, Samir Younés published a book of counter-projects entitled: Ara Pacis Contro-projetti, Counterprojects, (Alinea, Firenze). This book
also included student projects from the University of Notre Dame's
Rome Studies Program, in studios directed by Richard Economakis and
Samir Younés. The professional projects included those of Léon Krier, Maurice Culot, Colin Rowe, Michael Lykoudis, Liam O'Connor and Duany & Plater-Zyberk and Co. Similarly, the archaeologist Paolo Marconi had made proposals for the reconstruction of the Porto di Ripetta.
To this one should add that many organizations and citizens' groups have opposed this project in newspapers, conferences, on television.
Among these groups is Italia Nostra - one of the most influential ecological organizations in Italy.
While Meier's building for the Ara Pacis is relatively innocuous, Italian groups are furious at what they see is an attempt to infiltrate deliberately contrasting Modernist buildings into the heart of the oldest Italian cities. The protest at the Ara Pacis follows similar Modernist interventions such as that of Arata Isozaki at the Uffizzi in Florence.
Read more on the Art Newspaper site...
Professor sought:
The University of Limerick is looking to appoint a Professor of Architecture within the Department of Engineering. The University is particularly interested in candidates interested in establishing a course in traditional architecture and guiding it through the Royal Institute of Architects of Ireland (RIAI) accrediation procedures.
The university has expressed interest in establishing a course with an emphasis on traditional architecture as they see that this will give them a competitive advantage in a crowded European university scene. They would be willing to consider a candidate wishing to take a sabbatical in Limerick to set up the course.
Click here to download the job specification as an MS Word document.
The direct web address of the job specification is
Closing date for this appointment is 30 July 2004.
Further information
Dr Huw Lewis
Declaration Calls for Education Shake-Up:
A conference organised by the Council for European Urbanism and INTBAU has called for a radical shake-up in education of architects and urbanists. In a declaration issued by the conference, participants identified serious problems in the way that teaching of architecture and urbanism is currently undertaken. Current teaching is in turn contributing to the creation of fragmented, sprawling and unsustainable cities and the loss of regional identities and cultures. The call came from a very successful conference held in Lisbon (right) and Viseu (lower right), Portugal. The conference set out its call for reform in a document known as the Viseu Declaration on Architectural Education in the 21st Century.
Hosted by the New School of Architecture & Urbanism at the Portuguese Catholic University the conference attracted teachers and practitioners from disciplines including planning, urban design, architecture, sociology, and history from across Europe and beyond. The keynote address was given by Dean of the University of Miami Architecture School Elizabeth Plater-Zyberk of leading architecture and town planning firm Duany and Plater-Zyberk.
A broad range of educators and practitioners from Europe and the USA participated in the conference. Speakers included Doug Kelbaugh, Dean (University of Michigan), Samir Younés (Director, University of Notre Dame Rome Studies Centre), Gabriele Tagliaventi (Director, A Vision of Europe, Bologna), Matthew Hardy (Secretary, INTBAU), Paul Gunther, (President, Institute of Classical Architecture & Classical America) and a host of others. A book of the conference will be published in due course.
The Viseu Declaration on Architectural Education in the 21st Century proposes that consideration of the quality of life and sustainability should form the centre of architectural and urbanist education. The primary task of architects and urbanists must be to improve the quality of life by creating an enduring legacy of beautiful, functional, equitable and healthy environments. Speaking in London, CEU Chair Susan Parham said "we must prepare students to engage the complex challenges of the 21st century".
The Declaration rejects the fragmentation of specialised education in architecture and urbanism, and supports a more integrated approach that includes educated generalists as well as trained specialists, in recognition of the inseparable link between architecture and urbanism. The Declaration sets out goals, methods, and curriculum for architectural education as well as proposals to establish a global network to implement these educational objectives.
The Declaration has already been adopted by the New School of Architecture & Urbanism at Viseu and the Politecnico di Bari and we expect a number of schools to follow suit. The Declaration is part of the work of the Council for European Urbanism and builds upon the Charter of Stockholm signed in November 2003.
Further details:
Prince's Foundation Changes Course:
The Prince's Foundation, the educational Charity based in Shoreditch that represents HRH The Prince of Wales's interests in architecture and the built environment, has quietly launched a new look website. The site is, much smaller than its predecessor but also clearer, easier to read and better looking.
Featured on the site is the Foundation's new logo (right). The fonts were featured in the successful if low-key re-launch during last November's Civitas conference attended by HRH The Prince of Wales and Deputy Prime Minister John Prescott. The new logo maintains the stylised feathers of the Institute's logo with a more fluid font, Enschedé Trinité, No. 1 Italic, a font dating from the late 1970s and deigned by Dutch designer Bram de Does.
Also featured on the website is a new strap line. Those familiar with the urbanist implication of the old strapline, "Working to connect the art of building and the making of community", and who remember the closure of the Graduate Course and Foundation Course in 1999-2001 will be surprised to see building and education stressed in the new purpose statement:
The reference to the works of Christopher Alexander ("timeless building") is perhaps indicative of a return to the earliest principles of The Prince of Wales's Institute of Architecture, founded in 1992 at Regent's Park. It also suggests a return to education through the new series of short courses headed by American scholar Michael Mehaffy.
In the last year the organisation has seen most of the activities brought together in the formation of the Foundation in 1998 set up as independent Charities, including The Prince's Drawing School, The Prince's School of Traditional Arts and INTBAU. The core business of the Foundation is now urban design and architecture combined with practical teaching in a range of initiatives including Mehaffy's short courses and a live build project at Kitt's Green in Birmingham.
All these changes seem set to establish the Foundation as the force in architecture and planning that it has striven to achieve during the last dozen years. Certainly the influence on government has never been stronger, through the former director David Lunts (now in a senior position in Prescott's Office of the Deputy Prime Minister) and Urban Design director Paul Murrain (a prominent urbanist well-known on both sides of the Atlantic and in Australia). But the recent growth and change has been rapid, and it remains to be seen whether the institution can sustain its output of high-quality work. INTBAU certainly wishes the Foundation well on its journey.
Land Marks for Rent:
The Landmark Trust is a building preservation charity that rescues and restores architecturally interesting and historic buildings at risk. The 20th edition of the Landmark Trust Handbook has just been released; containing fascinating details of historic places to stay across Britain, all saved from oblivion by the Trust. There are details of nine new buildings and a further nine for which appeals for restoration funds are included.
Among the 178 historic buildings restored by Landmark there is an enormous diversity in type and location: martello towers, forts (Bath Tower, below), lodges and gatehouses, whole castles and the banqueting rooms of grand houses; tiny lock cottages, early industrial row dwellings and mine buildings; parsonages and vicarages; chapels and priory hospitals (Beamsley), ancient farms, late medieval hall houses, inns, and longhouses, Georgian town houses, 18th century villas and baronial mansions. And of course a pineapple (the extraordinary two storey summer house built for the 4th Earl of Dunmore in Central Scotland, from 1761)... read more...
Virginia seeks conservation planner:
A challenging position in architecture, conservation and planning has arisen at the University of Virginia. The principal responsibility for the preservation planner/conservator will be supervising the on-going restoration and conservation of Thomas Jefferson's Academical Village, a World Heritage Site and one of the great statements of classical architecture. The person holding the position will have the benefit of guidance and expertiseY€fromY€a blue-ribbon peer review panel.
Preservation Planner/Conservator
Qualifications include a degree in architecture, engineering, architectural history, archaeology, or historic preservation; master's degree is preferred. Successful applicants must demonstrate specialized knowledge in the treatment of historic fabric and/or a related cultural resources management field with a minimum of five years of directly related professional experience. Applicants must demonstrate knowledge of and experience in implementing the Secretary of Interior Standards for Historic Preservation as well as other federal and state historic preservation legislation and policies and their application to cultural resources management.
To apply for the position, a State of Virginia application form is required; specify job code D11DA. Apply to The University of Virginia Human Resources Department, 914 Emmet Street, P.O. Box 400127, Charlottesville, VA 22904, or download an application from the University's website here. Interested candidates should refer to Job Vacancy Announcement #MB ARCH D11DA 001.
Fellows sought by Knight:
The University of Miami's School of Architecture has announced a Call for Nominations for the 2004-2005 Knight Fellowship Program in Community Building. The program, funded by the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation, is a forum to advance the knowledge and practice of effective community building through an innovative series of interdisciplinary initiatives including fellowships, scholarships, conferences, charrettes, and publications.
Communities today face a host of urgent problems ranging from growth issues to quality-of-life concerns. The Knight Program fosters an interdisciplinary approach to these complex problems in the belief that the cooperation of diverse professions is essential for creating and maintaining livable communities. The fellowship, which is the heart of the Knight Program, each year brings together twelve distinguished mid-career professionals from a multitude of fields.
Based, in part, on interest from some CEU members in past years, this year, for the first time, the Knight Program will be considering nominations for sponsored fellowships from international nominees. See page iii of the nomination form for additional details.
Further information
Classical Excellents Rewarded:
The Institute of Classical Architecture & Classical America today announced the winners of the 2004 Arthur Ross Awards for Excellence in the Classical Tradition. At a dinner held on Monday, May 3, on the roof of the St. Regis, the following were honored, by category :
ARCHITECTURE - Merrill and Pastor Architects
ARTISANSHIP - John Canning
HISTORY - Charles Peterson
RENDERING - Michael McCann
STEWARDSHIP AND PATRONAGE - The Colonial Williamsburg Foundation
The award winners were selected from over 100 nominations submitted to a jury chaired by Jaquelin Robertson, founding partner of Cooper Robertson & Partners and former Dean of the University of Virginia School of Architecture.
In announcing the winners, Mr. Robertson cited Scott Merrill and George Pastor for their "fresh, innovative approach to classicism, taking the language of traditional architecture and applying it in a most original way. In their relatively short time in practice, they have taken traditional vernacular and given it a fresh contemporary twist, all the while keeping to the classical language."
ICA&CA president, Paul Gunther added, "A growing national roster of members thanks and commends the awards jury for this year's selections. Together, they exemplify well our mission to sustain and interpret the best lessons from our design past for the sake of a better and more humane built future across the country. We are pleased that the leadership of our Honorary Chairman, Arthur Ross, is celebrated with those to be honored on May 3, 2004."
Val-disaster-co:
The notorious Autostrada A-31 Valdastico Sud, proposed to run from Trento in Trentino-Alto Adige, via Vicenza to Rovigo in the Veneto, was initiated in the 1970s. It has recently been labelled "the most futile and destructive motorway in Italy" for the damage it could potentially inflict on the prealpine Lago di Caldonazzo (below), on the integrity of the landscape, as well as on the famous Palladian villa La Rotunda (lower right) and the Villa Saraceno (above), a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
Proponents of the motorway claim a saving of 10 minutes on journey times, at the expense of some of the finest landscapes in the Veneto, close to the Euganean Hills. Opponents cite the demands of the privatised autostrada company for 400hA of development land adjoining off-ramps to make the scheme viable. Clearly such land release will act as a potent driver of the sprawl urbanism which is the curse of northern Italy.
The Landmark Trust, as owner of the villa Saraceno, Italia Nostra, WWF Italia and a residents' committee has led a campaign against the project and presented two appeals to the Regional Administrative Court requesting cancellation of the administrative impacts of the environmental impact evaluation procedure, but without success. The Italian government, headed by Silvio Berlusconi, revoked the appointment of most of the members of the state commission which made a 'negative judgement' on environmental compatibility.
Petition
Marcus Binney, Chairman of SAVE Britain's Heritage, noted that the proposal represented what he described as "...an appalling scandal by Berlusconi and Co... to gain a favourable verdict on a proposed motorway. It must be fought and fought and outside help is needed".
Help defeat this proposal
Lorella Graham
Write directly to the following and express your views:
The Prime Minister of Italy
Acropolis Now:
Critics around the world are expressing outrage at the proposed design for the New Acropolis Museum in Athens, which many believe will fatally compromise the setting of the Parthenon. The issue has become so heated that it is thought to have contributed to the downfall of the Greek Government at last weekend's election.
General elections held in Greece on 7 March 2004 resulted in the replacement of the centre-left PASOK party government. The outgoing government had started a multitude of architectural projects in preparation for the 2004 Summer Olympic Games. It consistently chose the most 'contemporary-looking' designs from among competing entries, and went even further to solicit the participation of familiar 'star' architects. As a result, the buildings under construction range from what has been described as "hideous" to what is being described as "atrocious".
Right and below, Tschumi's design for the New Acropolis Museum.
The PASOK government has - for various reasons now being hotly debated - left many of them incomplete. Those buildings that are almost completed will have to be finished so that they can house the games, even if they are architectural abominations. One building that has only just started, however, is the New Acropolis Museum, designed by Bernard Tschumi.
Mathematician and author Nikos Salingaros published an essay criticizing this building on the 2Blowhards blog on 1 March 2004, with a Spanish version in FORMA. The essay touches on related topics such as the return of the Elgin Marbles to Greece, a cause being promoted by the new UK-based organisation Marbles Reunited. The building will cover (though not obliterate) the site of a pre-hellenic village of great archaeological value, and establish a dangerous precedent for assertive 'look at me' architecture adjoining a site universally valued for its unequalled legacy of Classical architecture.
Speaking this week, Salingaros noted that "it was in time to influence the Greek elections; though we don't yet know to what extent this single project contributed to PASOK's downfall". In the words of the Italian commentator Stefano Borselli: "The Acropolis monster has brought bad luck to the Greek Government; perhaps the new government will rethink the whole thing".
UK Design Education In Crisis::
Government plans to build up to 4 million new homes in the booming south-east of England may be stymied by severe shortage of suitably trained architects and urban designers, it has been claimed. The shortage comes at a time when new housing completions are at their lowest level since the 1920s. A lack of suitable designers may threaten the ability of Prescott's planning department, the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister (ODPM), to deliver the "sustainable communities" which he has promised to build.
Speaking at a conference at The Prince's Foundation in November, Prescott noted that building in the South East was always controversial, but that: "…we can build better sustainable communities, mainly on brownfield sites, with a more efficient use of land, which will improve our quality of life, and provide the homes that are so desperately needed for our children and grandchildren… In the over-crowded South-East, for example, we have increased densities from 25 to 29 homes per hectare. But we can do better. Our Georgian towns and cities are built at densities of up to 80 homes per hectare."
Shortages "…there is deep concern that the industry as a whole is under-achieving. It has low profitability and invests too little in capital, research and development and training. Too many of the industry's clients are dissatisfied with its overall performance'.
Egan's words were echoed in 1999 by that of the Urban Task Force (UTF) under the direction of Lord Rogers. In his report, Lord Rogers warned that the UK needed to broaden and strengthen its urban development skills among both public and private sector professionals, and noted that "at present the skills-base is uneven and often segmented". Likewise, the Urban White Paper produced by the Department of Environment Transport and the Regions (DETR) in 2000 in response to the UTF proposed the setting up of a number of regional Centres of Excellence. These were to have delivered a range of training programmes to practitioners and others engaged in regeneration and urban development, but so far little has been done.
Early in April 2003, Egan was invited by Prescott to address the problems caused by a shortage of skills in regeneration in the UK. Speaking at the launch of the research project, Prescott noted that: "We have to look afresh at the skills and capacity of the built environment professions. I have therefore asked Sir John Egan to develop a skills and training strategy - targeted at the planning and other professions crucial to delivering Sustainable Communities. I hope Sir John will do for professional skills what Rethinking Construction did for the construction industry".
Regeneration 'The biggest single barrier to delivering the Government's Communities Plan is having sufficient trained people with the right skills to do it'.
CABE's five-point plan was made in response to this severe shortage of skills in the architecture and planning professions, which they argue will hinder regeneration across the UK. The report calls for action to establish a network of competitively appointed regional centres developed in partnership with the Regional Development Agencies and/or a national academy. CABE chairman Stuart Lipton claimed that: 'In the next five years we need at least 1,000 skilled professionals on the ground who are capable of leading Sustainable Communities projects. We cannot rely solely on the existing institutions to provide this. What we require is small number of professional education providers to raise the game to the best of international provision. And we need to get on with that now.'
Academies
The Prince's Foundation is readying itself to deliver a series of courses aimed at teaching the new urban agenda to practising designers, but much more is needed. Already the Foundation's Urban Projects Team is stretched to capacity trying to meet the demand for appropriate skills in urban regeneration and new development.
Conference
Website British Classicist Wins Big Prize:
The University of Notre Dame School of Architecture will present the second annual Richard H. Driehaus Prize for Classical Architecture to leading architect and theorist Demetri Porphyrios at a ceremony on Saturday 20 March 20 in the ballroom of the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. Chosen by a committee of leading architects and educators, Porphyrios will receive a $US100,000 prize and a bronze and stone model of the Choregic Monument of Lysikrates in Athens.
Principal of the London-based Porphyrios Associates, Porphyrios has designed traditional and classical buildings and urban projects in Europe, the United States and the Middle East. His portfolio includes the Grove Quadrangle at Magdalen College Oxford and buildings at Brindleyplace in Birmingham UK. Most recently he designed Whitman College, Princeton University's newest and sixth residential college. Other projects include the town of Pitiousa in Spetses, Greece; the new Duncan Galleries in Lincoln, Neb.; and the King's Cross masterplan in London.
Porphyrios, who was awarded an honorary degree from Notre Dame in 1997, has served as Thomas Jefferson Professor at the University of Virginia, and as Bishop Professor at Yale University. His books include "Sources of Modern Eclecticism," "Classicism Is Not a Style" and "Classical Architecture."He earned his master's degree in architecture and his doctorate in the history and theory of architecture from Princeton University.
Richard H. Driehaus, the founder and chairman of Driehaus Capital Management in Chicago, endowed the annual award to honor a major contributor in the field of traditional and classical architecture or historic preservation. He established the prize through the Notre Dame School of Architecture because of its reputation as a leader in incorporating the ideals of traditional and classical architecture into the task of modern urban development.
In addition to Driehaus, members of the award selection panel included Adele Chatfield-Taylor, president of the American Academy in Rome; Michael Lykoudis, chair of the Notre Dame School of Architecture; Jaquelin Robertson, principal of Cooper Robertson in New York and former dean of the University of Virginia School of Architecture; and David Watkin, architectural historian and fellow at Peterhouse College in Cambridge.
Demetri Porphyrios is a member of the INTBAU Committee of Honour. Civitas - traditional urbanism in contemporary practice:
The UK's first exhibition on the contemporary delivery of traditional urbanism which opened at The Prince's Foundation in Shoreditch (right) on 17 November 2003, is available for tour bids from interested organisations around the world. The exhibition considers the principles that underpin traditional urbanism using 20 groundbreaking examples of urban development from around the world which demonstrate how traditional urbanism can be delivered in contemporary practice.
To read more about the exhibition, click here.
Please contact Melissa Saunders on msaunders@princes-foundation.org or telephone +44-20-7613-8533 if your organisation would be interested in hosting this professionally-designed exhibition in 2005. Read up on Sprawl:
The Swedish (and English) online magazine Axess has this week launched a series of articles on the problems of sprawl urbanism, including one by INTBAU secretary Matthew Hardy.
The articles are:
Happy reading! Romania Gold Mining Destruction Outrage:
The Oscar nominated Hollywood blockbuster Cold Mountain is set during the American Civil War, among the amazing peaks of America's Blue Ridge mountain range, but the visually stunning scenes which form a background to the opening Battle of the Crater sequence were all filmed in Romania, as were the beautiful countryside landscapes which are delighting cinema audiences all over the world. Most of the $83 million film was actually filmed in Romania, which director Anthony Minghella chose because its Carpathian Mountains so much resembled the scenery of the Blue Ridge country.
There is no doubt that this is an exciting and beautiful corner of Europe. Adding to this value however, is the fact that it is also the location of the Rosia Montana Roman archaeological site, one of the most important in Europe.
But, even as the film opens in Europe, looking set to scoop the BAFTA Awards, a Canadian mining company, with the permission of the Romanian government, is reactivating the area's former gold mining operations and is planning to blow up these mountains. The intention is to remove the residue of its gold by open-cast mining. In a neighbouring valley, pulverised rock and cyanide-laced water used to extract the gold will be stored in an unlined lake, held back by a dam 180-metres high (the equivalent of a 60-storey building) built of waste rock from the mines. Any fool can see that this is an appalling accident waiting to happen.
The effect will be to totally destroy the landscape, some of the most beautiful in Romania, including historic villages, ancient churches, graveyards, roads, fields woods and hills. Another consequence of the development will be to destroy some of the most important Roman archaeological remnants in European history.
The destruction of the archaeology, landscape and Rosia Montana itself, with its many fine houses and churches (the Alburnus Maior of Daco-Roman times and the oldest documented town in Romania, until recently listed as a monument of exceptional historical value) threaten the very identity of the Romanian people who trace their origins to Roman Dacia.
The whole area is universally recognised as of unique importance for its wealth of Roman and pre-Roman archaeology, most of it unexplored: dwellings, baths, temples, altars, graves, tombs and an almost infinite and complex network of mining galleries.
On Tuesday 10 February 2004 one of Romania's most distinguished cultural figures, Sherban Cantacuzino, CBE, will be presenting the case for preserving Rosia Montana, and suggesting an alternative course of action. Dan Cruickshank, the well-known art historian, author and presenter of BBC2 architectural heritage and history programmes, has kindly agreed to chair the lecture and debate.
ROSIA MONTANA: THE LURE OF GOLD
The lecture is in aid of Pro Patrimonio, the UK branch (UK Registered Charity No. 1087781)
Pro Patrimonio, The National Trust of Romania, is an international not-for-profit non governmental organization whose mission is to identify, preserve, and advocate for the historic heritage of Romania. It aims to restore, rescue and revitalize endangered buildings and sites for the benefit of future generations. Pro Patrimonio's mandate includes: historic buildings and landmarks, significant architecture, archeological sites, traditional villages, traditional crafts and skills.
Pro Patrimonio is a federation of autonomous national foundations in Romania, UK, USA and France which share a common mission, a common conservation program, a common website and a common president.
For more information contact: Arthur Ross Awards:
On Monday 3 May 2004 The Institute of Classical Architecture & Classical America will hold its annual Arthur Ross Awards honoring excellence in the classical tradition. The ICA&CA is now accepting nominations for consideration by this year's Ross Awards jury, to be chaired by Jaquelin T. Robertson.
Five (5) recipients will be selected for awards by the 2004 Jury from among the following categories:
Note: Awards are not given in every category, each year.
Award Criteria
Instructions for Nominations
Format for Submissions
It is not necessary to submit elaborate or time-consuming and expensive-to-produce presentations. Instead, we request a single binder of images that illustrate the range & depth of the nominee's work. The binder should also include a CV and captions that identify and briefly explain the work. Electronic files or CDs should NOT be sent and cannot be considered.
Submission Date
Questions:
Nominations should be sent to:
Background of the Arthur Ross Awards
Views expressed in articles are those of the author and not necessarily of INTBAU
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The moves towards the listing of Sibiu have been widely welcomed in Transylvania and elsewhere. However, many non-governmental organisations have expressed concern over the damage that the proposed Brasov-Bors motorway might cause to the heritage of Transylvania. The route of the motorway includes areas located very closely to medieval cities and towns. Despite protests, the project has recently been awarded to the American company Bechtel without apparently going through a public tender process.Right, a doorway in Sibiu.. Image: Tom Hughes
There have been conflicting reports this week from Portugal where an apparently modernist professor and faculty have been installed in the acclaimed Viseu New School of Architecture and Urbanism. There is now widespread concern that the work of the tradition-oriented faculty under José Cornélio da Silva will be lost. Reports from a wide range of sources suggest that the President of the Catholic University of Portugal at Viseu, Professor Passos Morgado and his colleague Antonio Carvalho had "orchestrate[d] a take over", without consulting existing teaching staff and in the face of the excellent work that has been done in the last 3 years. 
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