Sandy in New York

The damages that Hurricane Sandy left on the east cost of the US, especially in New York and New Jersey, show not only the forces of nature but also how fragile are the infrastructures and the transportation systems. The strong contrast between the massive development of the private sector (real estate and commercial) and the aging and rusting infrastructures makes one wonder how come in a city like New York, which is the world financial capital, the infrastructure is so silent and forgotten? well, maybe until the next hurricane...

From a world leader in new technologies and infrastructure, the US now finds itself now far behind in comparison to Europe, the "four Asian tigers" and of course China. The massive investment in transportation in the first half of the last century has decreased dramatically in the last 50 years. Only between 1903 - 1909 three iconic bridges were inaugurated in New York: Williamsburg bridge, Manhattan bridge and Queens borough bridge. Verrazano bridge, that was open to the public on 1964 was probably the last one of its kind.

Nowadays the city can hardly complete three subway stations that make part of the "new" Second Avenue subway, a project that was already planed and partly realized (only the tunnels) in the first half of the last century.

Meanwhile, the local authorities that run infrastructure: roads, bridges, rail and mass transit, are under severe financial strain because maintenance costs have increased faster than tax revenues. A February 2009 report from the National Surface Transportation Infrastructure Financing Commission warned that without policy changes, state and local governments would raise only about a third of the $200 billion needed each year to maintain and improve the roads and transit systems. 

Re-elected president Obama, something to think about...

Source: Knowledge@Wharton

Godwin's Law

it's hard to argue with someone that has this name, but Godwin's law is an interesting/humorous observation, made by Mike Godwin in 1990, about behavior in online discussions and threads. it states: "as online discussion grows longer, the probability of a comparison involving Nazis or Hitler approaches 1". it doesn't say if the comparison is appropriate or not, only that in a long-run online debate, regardless the topic or the scope, someone will eventually make it. two other observations were made later to the observation: first, that once it occurs, the thread is over, and whoever mentioned the Nazis has automatically lost, whatever argument was in progress. second, any intentional use of Godwin's law in order to invoke a thread ending will be unsuccessful...go figure...

Skyscraper and the city

the question is, why in a city that:

1. is a major capital city;

2. has more then 3 millions inhabitants;

3. has no historic high landmarks (e.g. the Eiffel tower) or a solid/dense historic center;

4. has no topographic problems or earthquake risks;

5. has a quite good public transportation system and infrastructure;

there are almost no skyscrapers?

Berlin has all (well, almost...we'll talk about it later) the parameters to allow high-rise buildings within the city, but it still has one of the most boring skylines.

by the end of the II world war, about 60% of the city was destroyed and it lost most of the historic urban tissue. during the division of Berlin between east and west, there was a different urban development in each part of the city. in east Berlin the planners were implementing the soviet urban development scheme, which included modular social housing (nice words to describe plattenbau ) and monumental roads that were way too wide for the traffic at that time. in west Berlin on the other hand, the urban development was less radical. most on the old urban structure was kept, but it was filled with concrete constructions which are typical to the west german post war development. and let's not forget the big spaces along the division wall that were just left empty.

and all this short introduction why? to explain why Berlin is actually the right city for high-rise buildings. one of the strong arguments against skyscrapers in the city centers (or within an existing urban tissue), is the traffic problems that they create due to the high number of users. the urban design heritage, especially in east Berlin, left numerous wide boulevards and Allees that could cope easily with that task, not mentioning the well organized public transportation system and the wide use of bicycles nowadays.

another advantage of Berlin, is the relatively big terrain availability within the city. either free lots (which are running out rapidly) or potentially reuse of land, as part of urban renewal program by replacing the low quality constructions that were built during the post war period.

the high-rise buildings are a challenge (good ones, not the cheap photoshop collage i did...), they are a 'must' considering the reduction of the open spaces, people love them (why? that's for another post...) so why not? the answer is demand! the population growth of the city doesn't create a housing crisis, the real-estate values are still not high enough to attract that kind of investment, there is no big demand for offices or for corporate headquarters (Berlin is not a business capital) and there will be always someone who will complain saying that Berlin is not like this or like that and that the global run-out of open spaces doesn't really bother him (even if he recycles the trash and eats bio...)

one of the renderings for the new development in Alexanderplatz, proposed by the architect Till Sattler. for other images visit this link.

Hong Kong Public Housing

few decades ago, before the "one country, two systems" era; before harbor city, times square, ifc and pacific place shopping malls, Hong Kong was experiencing some interesting events that shaped the urban development of the city. as a British colony since 1842, it couldn't avoid the 'must' monuments build for the local administration (governor house, courts, police station, etc.), some were destroyed during the economic boom of the 50's and replaced by new construction. actually Hong Kong as we know today was mostly shaped in those years, following two major events: the reconstruction of the colony after the Japanese occupation (until 1945) and the Chinese civil war who brought to the colony waves of refugees. private firms and corporation from Shanghai and Guangzhou, who wanted to avoid the communist rule in China, shifted their activity and Hong Kong started its rapid industrialization.

a massive slum fire on Christmas eve in 1953, who left an estimated 53.000 people homeless, marked the beginning of the public housing program with the construction of Shek Kip Mei Estate (1953) in order to cope with the growing influx of immigrants and the low conditions of housing. the first blocks in the Shek Kip Mei estate were of "H" shape consisting of two residential wings linked in the center with communal sanitary facilities. each block was 7 stories high and the apartments size was based on a calculation of 2.2 sqm for an adult and half that for every child under 12 (roughly 5.5 sqm for two parents and a kid...). 29 blocks were built origianly by the colonial government, some with the financial help of the UN, all of them except for one - block 41, were demolished during the past years and replaced by new constructions. today the estate contains 26 blocks with the official capacity of 13,900 inhabitants.

the Hong Kong Housing Authority (founded in 1973) and the Hong Kong Housing Society are the organs that develop public housing solutions for low-income residents in the city and it is estimated that nearly half of the population now live in some form of public housing.

Hong Kong

what a great post to open the year with - Hong Kong! although i visited Hong kong for only short time (2 days each time...), it is one of the few places that i could say to myself: i could definitely live here...Hong kong has it almost all. starting with the geographic conditions, it has sea, islands and mountains. it has a rich mixture of cultures with a touch of british heritage and energies which can be compared to New York. the quantity of the people in the streets, the shopping rush, the strong contrast between luxury and decadence, make you feel that life in Hong Kong is far from being relaxed. it is always on the move, work, shopping, out for dinner and later for a drink...like in New York, staying at home is absolutely not an alternative (i guess that the small apartments has also something to do with it).

the topographic conditions of the city challenged planners and engineers to find creative solutions to the mobility and the housing problems of the city, and they did it in a quite remarkable way. the huge investment in infrastructure, combined with the efficiency the people who run it, make everything work perfectly.

many famous international architects contributed to the dynamic skyline of the city. however, i think it should be seen as a whole and not for the detail. except for few big and interesting projects (such as HSBC of Foster or Bank of China by M. I. Pei) it is hard to notice the quality of architecture in this maze of construction. some of the new constructions are simply boring, but the diversity of the buildings, from shimmering glass and steel towers to gray tenement houses decorated with aircons is what makes it charming. the density of the construction on the existing narrow streets layout, creates many cozy corner and spaces, that could somehow remind of the mediterranean city. in some point you don't even notice how many floors are above you...

Happy Holidays!

for all of you who bother to read, here for only for a short visit or comment, i wish Happy Holidays and amazing New Year! Buon Natale e Buon Anno! Schöne Feiertage und guten Rutsch! Feliz Navidad y próspero Año Nuevo! Wesolych Swiat Bozego Narodzenia! שנת 2011 מצוינת במיוחד

Chicago - the first school

sometimes disasters can become new opportunities. that was more or less the case of Chicago when in 1871 the Great Chicago Fire turned into ashes 18.000 structures, leaving one third of the population, at that time around 300,000, homeless. the reconstruction of the city though, was remarkable and after less then a year most of the visible signs of the destruction were erased. moreover, the Great Fire is a turning point in Chicago's early history as it symbolizes opportunity, renewal, and future promise. one decade after the Great Fire the city had more then one million inhabitants and it became a center of innovation for architecture and construction technologies.

by the end of the 19th century a group of active architects in the city started to define a new style of design which will later be known as the Chicago School. one of the most important features of the 'school', was the use of steel frame structure with usually masonry cladding. together with the invention of the elevator, it allowed the construction of the first skyscrapers. This new technology, while costly, had overwhelming advantages. It was almost fireproof, the thin curtain walls hung from the steel frame allowed for more interior rental space, new floors could be added easily; and since the exterior walls were no longer essential, they could be replaced by larger windows. sounds familiar? well, few years later this new technology was adopted by the Modernist movement in Europe and the 'free facade' became one of Le Corbusier's Five Points. however while in Europe the Modernist movement was against any ornaments on the facade, in the Chicago School some Neoclassical elements were used and the buildings were usually divided in three, according to the classical column order.

Architects whose names are associated with the Chicago School include Henry Hobson Richardson, Dankmar Adler, Daniel Burnham, William Holabird, William LeBaron Jenney, Martin Roche, John Root, Solon S. Beman, and Louis Sullivan.

The Railzeppelin

when i was a kid, i used to be a big fan of train models, especially of the german firm Märklin. i used to collect all their catalogs since they were much cheaper then the real thing...one model however was really inspiring, an hybrid between a train and an airship - the Railzeppelin or the Schienenzeppelin.

the real experimental Railzeppelin was designed and developed by the German aircraft engineer Franz Kruckenberg in 1929 and it was powered by an aircraft engine with a huge airplane propeller located at the rear. it was built using an airship construction technology with aerodynamic shape and very light materials. the interior of the railcar was spartan and designed in Bauhaus style.
only one prototype was ever built and in 1931 it exceeded a velocity of 200 km/h for the first time. On 21 June 1931, the train set a new world railway speed record (which was kept until 1954) of 230 km/h on the Berlin–Hamburg line. due to many problems with the prototype and the disagreement between the railway company and the developer, the Railzeppelin never entered in service and in 1939 it was finally dismantled because its material was needed by the German army.
one of the reasons for the failure of the railzeppelin was the danger of using an open propeller in crowded railway stations. kind of a mixer...

Bangkok, Oriental setting

the last time and the only time i visited Bangkok was in september 94'. backpackers vacation with friends before i started the university. i didn't see much of the city then. it was was kind of a station between the airport, the islands in the south and the Chang-Mai/Chang-Rai tour in the north. but i still have some memories of the unbearable humidity and the smog at the Khau-san district, the first encounter with the local street food, the clubs at Phat-pong district (i think it was the 'Queens') the temples, the royal palace and the traffic jams. people said that at that time Bangkok held the world record for traffic jams. already then you could say it was very dynamic city and i'm sure it has changed almost completely by now.
some facts:
Bangkok or better Krung-tehp in thai, is the short version of the longest name ever given to a place (it's composed of 21 words).
the greater Bangkok area has a population of 11,971,000.
as a direct result of the 80's and 90's Asian investment boom, numerous multinational corporations base their regional headquarters in Bangkok and the city has become a regional force in finance and business. in 2009, it was the second most expensive city in South-East Asia behind Singapore.
the city's notorious red-light district (Phat-pong) attracts 11 million international visitors each year, following just Paris and London.
according to Travel and Leisure magazine, Bangkok was ranked the best city in world, in 2008 (!).
the hit 'one night in Bangkok' by Murray Head from 1984 is banned in Thailand (for more banned stuff around the world check this amazing link).



p.s. thanks to Nathalie Tours in Khau-san. if anyone has info about her, please drop me a line.

Dan Metro System

Dan Metro System (DMS) is a proposal for an underground train system for the metropolitan area of Tel Aviv - 'Gush Dan'. it is the largest metropolitan area in Israel and it is located in the centre of the country along the Mediterranean coastline. the population of 'Gush Dan' is estimated of more then 3.200.000 inhabitants. the cultural, social and financial centre of the area is the city of Tel Aviv but other small centres still exist in the heart of the satellite cities and new centres are created in the outskirts and the open areas between them.

a week ago (22.02.2010), the government announced that it will invest 7.270.000.000,00 USD between 2010 - 2020 in the traffic infrastructure of the country. the development plan consist of building new highways and train connection between the periphery and the centre that will, according to what they claim, reduce the traffic jams and allow an effective population distribution. the development of the train network (and not the highways) might reduce the traffic on the roads but, as far as i see, if the problem of the traffic in 'Gush Dan' will not be solved in the next years, all the investment in connecting the periphery is worthless. the traffic problems in the metropolitan area of Tel Aviv should be solved, as in any other big metropolitan area, with an efficient public transportation system that will reduce the need of the car use.

for the last 30 years many solutions were suggested but nothing really has been done. still today the public transportation in the area is based on buses and taxis which create traffic jams, mess and severe air pollution. the ideas for underground train system were raised by previous mayors and helped them to gain political popularity but somehow because of budget questions nobody really started to dig. the most current option is the "magical" light-train which consist of what we know from europe, Trams. the first line of the light-train (the red line) should connect Petah Tikva to Bat Yam and it is suppose to cross only the centre of Tel Aviv in an underground tunnel. some other lines are planed but still in a very early stage. the light-train is actually a very short term development solution. it has no vision for the future growth of the city. although some similar projects in the world work successfully, it is always because they have a good supporting infrastructure as very wide roads or tunnels. in other words, in most cases unless you have streets wide enough to create a differentiated lanes, the light-train solution is only an additional weight on the existing streets and infrastructure of the city.

the metropolitan area of Tel Aviv is big enough to have its own metropolitan train system. a net of lines that will cross the area in underground tunnels where subterranean tracks are not possible. it should be efficient and connect the centre of the populated areas and not the outskirts. it should provide connection to civil services, cultural and recreation points of interests. it should be built all at once and not in stages if we really want to have a change. it should work 24/7 and also on Saturdays if we want that people, like in every other big city in Europe, will have no need of a car. it should be electric and not on gas turbine. it should have a connection to the state train stations to allow an easy interchange.

for those of you who have a vision i drew this plan. something to dream about.

Flughafen Tempelhof

presentfuture
this airport, one of Europe’s three iconic pre-war airports (the others are Croydon airport in London and Le Bourget in Paris) was first opened in 1923. in 1926 the German airline company Lufthansa was founded here. its main building, constructed in 1927, was the largest building in the world, before it was beaten by the Pentagon building in 1934. Tempelhof however, is still the largest building in Europe. as part of Albert Speer's plan for the reconstruction of Berlin during the Nazi era, Prof. Ernest Sagebiel was ordered to replace the old terminal with a new terminal building in 1934. the new terminal was built between 1936 - 1941 and one of the airport's most distinguishing features was its large canopy style roof that was able to accommodate most contemporary airliners until the early 70's. it’s considered by many to be an architectural masterpiece. the architect Norman Foster described Tempelhof as no less than 'the mother of all airports' (sounds a bit like a middle-eastern expression. Saddam Hussein's threat before the first golf war 'the mother of all wars'...). after the war, the airport became famous during the Berlin Blockade (1948 - 1949) where it was used for the Airlift, the Lufbrücke. on 30 October 2008, despite the efforts of some protesters to prevent the closure, the runway and air field lights were switched off. in the present days the empty terminal host events as Bread and Butter, concerts and the Berlin marathon fair. as for the future, it is still not clear and the city of Berlin is evaluating dozen of suggestions, but that is for another post.

Haiti

once i had a neighbour that his mother used to live in Haiti (she still lives there and luckily she was found alive). every summer when he went to visit her, he used to bring me t-shirts with the print 'Haiti' on them. i felt so special that i used to wear them for the whole summer, until they were practically decomposed. even my friends from high school remember me as the one with the 'Haiti' t-shirt...

the horrible earthquake (with still unknown number of casualties) who attacked the Caribbean country is the latest in the chronology of disasters made by nature and men.
the beginning was promising. inspired by the French revolution, the slaves on the western part of the island Hispaniola (brought by the french to work in the sugar cane fields) upraised against the french troops and defeated them in 1804. they then founded the only nation in the world born on a slave revolt. to defend the island against future French attacks, the new king Henri I, constructed the largest fortress in the Western Hemisphere - Citadelle Laferriere (a world heritage site by UNESCO).
in the following 200-year history, Haiti has seen 32 coups. the US occupied the island between 1915 - 1934. from 1957 - 1986, the Duvalier family (Papa And Baby) reigned as dictators, turning the country into a hermit kingdom with a personality cult and corruption. under pressure of the US, those two went to exile leaving the country in a political chaos between attempts for democracy, coups and corruption.
Haiti is the poorest country in the Americas. it has no natural resources and the most available fuel for domestic use is wood. in 1925, Haiti still had 60% of its original forest but since then, the population has cut down an estimated 98% of its original forest cover. the deforestation has caused soil erosion and flooding leaving more then 3000 people dead after the tropical storm in 2004. what a sad story

Happy Holidays!

Happy Holidays and a fantastic New Year!
Buone Feste e un Nuovo Anno meraviglioso!
Frohe Festtage und schoenen rutsch ins neue Jahr!
שנה טובה

Copper houses

so yesterday i went to celebrate the anniversary of the Bauhaus school in Dessau. the famous building of the school first opened its gates in 4th dec. 1926 and was in use as a school for design until 1933, when he was shut down after the National Socialist came to power in Germany. the german architect Walter Grupios (1883–1969) was the founder and the first director of the school that was founded in 1919, originally in Weimar. Grupios was also the designer of an experimental and innovative housing solution made of copper.
in the beginning of the 30's he was hired to refine the existing models developed by the Eberswalde based firm Aron Hirsch and Son, a global player in the copper and brass industry. In 1932 he presented two prototypes displaying the slogan 'Sun, Air, and Housing for All!'. various domestic firms were interested, as well developers and planners in the US and the USSR. in 1932 the Hirsch company went bankrupt and the collaboration with Grupios was ended. but with the National Socialist in power, a new market for the copper houses arose - the Jewish emigrants to Palestine. in August 1933 the company put out a special catalogue, with models designed specifically for the Palestine market, called 'Haifa', 'Jerusalem', 'Tel Aviv' and 'Sharon'. the largest model, with a living space of 280 m2 was called 'Lebanon'. a branch of the German Copper House Company was opened in Haifa and at least fourteen houses found their way to the British Mandate of Palestine. when the National Socialists began to rearm, copper came to be in short supply, and its export was forbidden. it is said that the last copper house delivered was immediately melted down on arrival in Tel Aviv and that the value of copper was higher then the houses themselves.
the exterior walls and roofs of the houses were made of copper, insulation was provided by aluminum foil and asbestos (very healthy...), the framing was of wood. their interior walls were sheet metal ornamented with intricate patterns (perfect to hang your Chagall on...). they had nothing to do with the radiant, white modernism of the Bauhaus or the White City of Tel Aviv, on the contrary, they were almost black.
the exhibition Heimatcontainer - Deutsche Fertighaeuser in Israel runs in the meisterhaus Schlemmer in Dessau until 7th March 2010.
source: Housing.com

East - West, North - South

officially called the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), is a single party (political...) state created in 1948 with the support of USSR while the south got the support of the USA. an attempt to invade the south led to the Korean war in 1950 which was also the first armed confrontation of the cold war. actually North and South Korea have never signed a formal peace treaty so technically they are still at war. In 2002 the US labeled North Korea part of an 'axis of evil' together with Iran and Iraq mainly because of its nuclear ambitions (you can guess what the girl in the poster is dreaming of...). the North Korean economy is completely nationalized, which means that food rations, housing, health care, and education is offered from the state for free. taxes has been abolished since 1974! (so maybe it is the Capital of Paradise...) however your monthly salary will probably be around 47$. the media in DPRK is one of the most strictly controlled in the world. the information is tightly controlled both into and out of the country. tourist must be accompanied by one or two tour guides (some nice trip diary can be found in the blog The forbidden railway: Vienna - Pyongyang). your cell phone will be sealed at the entry (even if technically there is no reception anyway). only news that favours the regime is permitted, while news that covers the economic and political problems in the country, or criticisms of the regime from abroad, is not allowed. the media upholds the personality cult of Kim Jong-il, regularly reporting on his daily activities. Both North and South Korea signed the June 15th North-South Joint Deceleration (2000) in which both sides made promises to seek out a peaceful reunification but there are still many steps ahead.

Panic in Detroit!

Jeffrey Eugenides - Middlesex, a very good book that i usually read only during yom-kippur (because you need a lot of time and concentration) which is in a part, a saga of an immigrant greek family in Detroit with many references to historic events of the city. Madonna, also native of Detroit, just finished her worldwide tour, the crisis of the car industry and so on...
so, Detroit: at the beginning of the 20th Century, the city of Detroit developed rapidly thanks to the automobile industry, a home to the 'Big Three' companies, General Motors, Ford and Chrysler. until the 50’s, its population rose to almost 2 million people and Detroit was the 4th most important city in the US. segregation and de-industrialization caused violent inter-racial riots in the late 60's (some say that the song of Bowie 'Panic in Detroit' is based on Iggy Pops's descriptions of revolutionaries he had known at that time). the following white middle-class exodus from the city together with the oil crises of 1973 (yom kippur war), that impacted the American auto industry, marked the beginning of the decline. firms and factories began to close or move to lower-wage states. slowly, but inexorably downtown high-rise buildings, theaters and historic monuments emptied. Since the 50’s, “Motor City” lost more than half of its population. source: alex|3d