Aztecs!

The book I just finished reading, or should I say sort of finished, because its too ready overdue and I don't think I can afford to keep and enjoy it more, is a MVRDV one called "FARMAX -Excursions on Density". Now you may have heard that The Netherlands is the most densely populated country in Europe and one of the most dense in the world - and the guys at MVRDV took that subject and started playing with it, trying to explore all the possible whatifs the future development of their country may be. But perhaps the word FARMAX needs an explanation - FAR means Floor Area Ratio, an index equal to the total built floor area of a building divided by the area of its lot (much like the Bulgarian КИНТ). So they wondered what would happen if they brought that to the max.

The problem in The Netherlands is that the continuous growth of cities spreads them among the adjacent countryside into low-density suburbs that fail to realize the dream of dwelling but at the same time ruin the quality of the country's landscape. For the authors of this book density can only be estimated if surrounded by nothing - in this way they try to study what would happen if their country's population is concentrated in a dense urban environment thus preserving the country's landscape intact for the future. The book examines some trends in society, the relations between density and social behaviour, and also some practical issues like light, air and access as the density is brought to the possible maximum.

The great thing about that book is that they get out of the box labelled 'common sense' and really push possibilities to extremes. In this way it becomes much easier to observe and study processes taking place now but at a very slow ratio and therefore of unknown consequences. Also these extreme studies produce a lot of material to think about and to be inspired. The book provides you with some answers - what would happen if you went in that direction, and gives you the extreme result, leaving you with the choice as to how far would you, the designer, go.

This is the moment to mention that MVRDV are not that popular at home and it's here in Belgium that I began to understand that their name has become somewhat of a religion among architecture students. The book I read is quite old (issued in 1998, come on, I was 9 at the time, playing the violin and building Barbie houses), but to a beginner in the urban studies and trends in societies and cities it turned out to be the right thing to read.

And this image so much reminds me of the current urban situation in Bulgaria... Aztecs!

чавки

Започнах да уча фотошоп. Вече и аз ще имам рендъри с чавки.

Here's the news.

Обмислям да започна работа за българското правителство. Така.


Иначе близостта на Бойко ме радва, всеки ден се събуждам и се усмихвам на 3000те километра помежду ни, и това, че научавам за дупета и таралежи и разрушение само по интернет само може да ме радва.

Искам чисти тоалетни и в УАСГ. Иначе не ме очаквайте да се върна, сериозно.

architecture is not art.

" - How do we make an architectural film interesting to the wide audience?
- We put sex in it. "

The witty quote aside, I find myself spending more time reading non-architecture blogs, ones about books and movies, and about space and provocation. I think architecture is becoming boring even to somebody interested in it, and to the general public I suppose it's the same as talking about nuclear physics. I think architects need communication on a different level. Simply said we need to get a life. And I need to create architecture that is less design-oriented and more people-oriented, even if that means giving up these fancy cantilevered stairs.

I find myself thinking that art has nothing to do with architecture - and if you wanted to do anythinng artsy, you made a wrong choice with architecture. It's a craft, not an art. But I love it.

защо нямаме урбанизъм.

Урбанизъм в интерес на цялото, на пейзажа в България е имало единствено по време на социализма. Разбира се, много може да се каже за цензурата, налагана на проектите, на шуробаджанащината при възлагането им, за стила и мащаба на периода. Но единствено тогава в цялата ни история някой е създавал комуникации, организирал градове и мислел за пространствата, обема и силуета на града като цяло.

В случая със социализма тази организация е била наложена от управляващите, а управляваните не са имали избора да не се съгласят.

В момента дори и да има инициатива от страна на държавата за промяна в начина на изготвяне на градоустройствени планове, тя не би могла да получи обществено одобрение. Ако на имотите, намиращи се на по-знакови места (примера със сградата на завоя на Раковска), се придадат по-благодатни градоустройствени показатели, веднага ще настане недоволство: защо на съседа давате, а на мен не. И всеки ще изнамери достатъчно експертни мнения, че неговият имот е знаков градоустройствено, и ще раздуе възможните квадратни метри до небето.

Единствените обективни критерии за градоустройствените закони в България са тези на хигиената и транспортното обслужване - и обема на възможното застрояване се ограничава според ослънчаването и проветрението. Така е справедливо - на всеки същото. Получава се едно егалитарно градоустройство.

За да се сбъдне елитарното градоустройство в България, трябва първо да има активна държавна инициатива в тази насока, и след това - обществено одобрение. По скоро редът трябва да е обратен и тази промяна трябва да започне от обществото.

За съжаление в момента това не е възможно - за да се случи, трябва да има разбиране на термини като "общото благо" и общия интерес - разбиране и желание за промяна, които не биха се случили без актовно гражданско общество.

Town Spaces - Contemporary interpretations in Traditional Urbanism

This is a resume of a book I read recently, entitled "Town Spaces - Contemporary interpretations in Traditional Urbanism" by Rob Krier.

The development of the Modernist movement in the beginning of the 20th century replaced traditional local buildings with global ones, whose structure and shape were based on function and hygiene. They were universal, but had nothing specific from the place they were built. This architectural tendency found place also in urbanism - functionalism divided cities into zones of interest, of living, working, leisure and culture, and created large boulevards connecting them, enabling large numbers of people to travel between them. This intervention almost erased the scape of existing cities, having no respect of the existing scale and structure. Even more, it caused traffic problems, forcing people to travel great lengths with vehicles rather than walking in the same neigbourhood. It also encouraged alienation, minimizing the accidental meetings, occuring between passers-by on the same street. Functional urbanism was a manifest to the new and modern, but forgot design's main purpose: serving the humans.

Traditional urbanism appeared as a reaction to that trend. As with all movements trying to preserve a tradition, it appeared after the tradition was no longer strong enough to manifest itself. This movement tried to re-invent the medieval image of the cities, serving as meeting points and inviting pedestrians instead of cars to the city streets. Contrary to the tendency of alienation, of one person households, this kind of urbanism created spaces in the cities in which people could meet and enjoy together. It created mixed-use areas, active in different parts of the day and enabling people of different age and social status to meet. It tried to preserve the human scale, replacing big buildings with smaller ones, fitted inside the urban tissue and carefully woven with public spaces.

The inspiration for this kind of approach were the medieval towns, where the narrow streets were full of suspense, the squares served as meeting places, and the disposition of spaces in relation to each other created different enjoyable views. This organic, human-sized structure was preferred to the straight axes that appeared in cities after the Baroque age, and that were often applied with disregard to the existing structure and spirit of the city.

Traditional urbanism is sustainable in its way – at one hand, as sustainable architecture does, it tries to slow down, to reinvent forgotten, peaceful and clever ways used in the past, with which to oppose to emerging bad trends in society. On the other, it has the biggest asset in sustainability, it creates spaces that are loved and desired by people. Rob Krier calls this type of urbanism seductive – appealing cities make people want to settle in, make them want to protect, preserve and develop these cities.

The main concept of this approach to city design is putting the human in the center of the city. Pedestrians are encouraged to use these new streets, while cars are presented with some obstacles; public buildings are created within reachable distance by foot, big government buildings are separated and scaled down, so that they no longer oppress people with their volume. Smaller buildings have one more advantage – they are more flexible and more easily replaced when they no longer serve their purpose. The constant image of the city is thus determined not by the facades, but by the urban grid. And if the designer manages to create a working grid, usable and loved by people, it will continue to form the city's image for generations to come.

Designing such a grid is a difficult task – the designer should try not to manifest himself, but rather to create a grid that seamlessly fits with the existing urban fabric. He should be modest in his project, and not try to discover new truths. In the field of architecture and urban design exist a lot of principles which can be transferred over generations and the designer should try to develop them instead of questioning them. This urbanism is an evolutionary continuation of the tradition rather than an invention – and this requires the designer to give up serving his ego and to start serving the community's taste and interest.

The main reason people are attracted to these human-scaled cities is nostalgia. They want to experience something unspoiled by time and technology, something authentic. This causes the tourists to come to historic cities and natural reserves, and the flow of tourists is also often the reason for the decrease of quality of these places. Creation of traditionally shaped cities is an answer to people's crave for authenticity. And the high interest of buyers means investors are also interested . People might enjoy the new and the modern, but when it comes to their own home, they prefer something classical and relaxing, they prefer “Catherine Hepburn over Marilyn Monroe”.