Demotech

"Demotech is an organization based in Maastricht, in The Netherlands which tests and promotes a unique approach to sustainability, development, and daily living around the globe."

"Re-design is our job. Re-designing concepts, tools, methods, ideas to make them accessible and affordable to everybody in the world. By re-designing the way we live, Demotech works to improve our lives with techniques and tricks aimed at a single over arching goal: More Joy Per Person."

Check for more information:
http://www.demotech.org/d-index.php

NEIGHBOURHOOD REGENERATION?

This neighbourhood regeneration-process seems rather dubious. Are the new appartments really an improvement?

The problem is that the old appartments- that are actually bigger- have rather small bathrooms and kitchens, and they are rather noisy. The minimal ceiling-height makes it impossible to deal with these problems by implementing new sound-insulation on floor or ceiling.

Had this problem not dominated, the easiest and proably cheapest and most sustainable solution would have been to redesign the floorplans instead of demolition.

IN PROGRESS

Architecture and Hygiene

Artist cum architect Adam Kalkin experiments with forms of living based on or created out of cheap industrial and often prefabricated elements. This shows how irrelevant esthetics are in the creation of enjoyable living environments!

Check his work at: http://www.architectureandhygiene.com/

It reminds me a bit sometimes of Jean Nouvel's 'Nemausus' housing project in Nimes and ofcourse of Lacaton&Vassal's architectures.

Link to Lacaton & Vassal architects: http://www.lacatonvassal.com/

waste = food

Documantary on the concept of 'Cradle-to-Cradle', the new buzz-word in the world of sustainable production technologies. Online available (Dutch only) trough this link:

http://www.vpro.nl/programma/tegenlicht/afleveringen/37061538/items/37930661/

The Finnish Model

Documantary available online (dutch only) on the model of the Finnish Economy. This documentary really makes you wonder why it seems not possible to transform the Dutch economy into an efficient knowledge-based economy.

http://www.vpro.nl/programma/tegenlicht/afleveringen/13908136/

Instortingsgevaar! [NL]

Als er niet snel maatregelen worden genomen, storten in Nederland de komende tijd nog meer gebouwen in,’ zeggen deskundigen uit de bouwsector. En hoogleraar C. Kleinman voorspelt: ‘Als we zo doorgaan met de controles op de bouwers, is dat een kwestie van afwachten.’ De afgelopen jaren stijgt het aantal incidenten waarbij balkons afbreken, daken instorten, parkeergarages scheuren en onveilige ontwerpen te laat worden ontdekt. In de aflevering van ZEMBLA ‘Pas op instortingsgevaar’ wordt onderzocht of de vele bouwincidenten iets met elkaar te maken hebben en wat ze zeggen over de manier van bouwen in Nederland.

http://player.omroep.nl/?aflID=3617134

World Press Photo 2007

copyright: Spencer Platt

http://www.worldpressphoto.org

dissensus: architecture-politics-cinema

At ETSAV [Escola d'Arquitectura del Vallès] one of Spain's best Architecture Universities and part of Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya in Barcelona, from spring semester 2008 onward, a new course on Architecture Politics and Cinema will start. The course "pursues a critical exploration of socio-cultural, anthropological and political fields through architecture, urbanism, cinema and other visual arts."

Under the direction of architect Alberto Altés Arlandis (OPA[!]A2A arquitectura) the course tries to break the boundaries of the classroom and construct a platform for debate and discussion. Along with the course a blog is set up in which the students and outsiders are encouraged to participate and contribute.

Among the invited guest-teachers will be: javier rodrigo, bas van der pol, david reznak, damon rich, cynthia madanski, antonio collados, pablo lópez aguado, a.o.

http://dissensus-architecturepoliticscinema.blogspot.com

Aga Khan Award

Last september the Aga Kahn Award of Architecture has been awarded to 9 architectural projects around the world.

According to the organisation committee the Aga Khan Award "seeks out and recognizes examples of architectural excellence, encompassing concerns as varied as contemporary design, social housing, community improvement and development, restoration, reuse, and area conservation, as well as landscaping and environmental issues"..."The selection process emphasizes architecture that not only provides for people’s physical, social and economic needs, but that also stimulates and responds to their cultural and spiritual expectations. Particular attention is given to building schemes that use local resources and appropriate technology in an innovative way, and to projects likely to inspire similar efforts elsewhere."

The organisation committee seems to stress the influence of Islamic culture on the awarded projects, however all projects posses universal qualities that should be influencial to every responsible and inteligent designer. Especially the strong emphasis on environmental and social sustainability makes the Aga Kahn Award a valuable counterpart to the well-known Pritzker Prize.

On the Aga Kahn Award website one finds a great deal of information of the 9 awarded projects. Especially accesible is the short video that introduces every project briefly.

The Award 2007 website; http://www.akdn.org/agency/aktc_akaa.html

architecture 2.0

At the shamefull Architectuur 2.0 conference in Rotterdam some Dutch 'starchitects' presented what they think architecture has to deal with in the coming years. Check the lecture of Wiel Arets (not even a bad architect) to see how horribly bad and irrelevant the conference was. But Willem-Jan Neutelings (Neutelings Riedijk Architecten Rotterdam) shows how big his balls are: he confronts the (350euro-paying) audience with the essence of our profession at this moment. He illustrates beautifully the failures of the 'superdutch' architects that also sit in front of him.

This conference and Neutelings lecture (and it's video) are only available in Dutch. They should however translate the transcript of Neutelings' lecture into English. For now check the video at:

http://www.tomaat.org

political documentaries

Tegenlicht (Backlight) is a tv-program by the Dutch leftwing broadcasting company VPRO. It makes politically and socially orientated documentaries of approx. 50min. Some are now available in full-english versions online. Hopefully more will become available soon. Check them at:

http://www.vpro.nl/programma/tegenlicht/dossiers/34338368/