Friday, May 29, 2009
Thursday, May 28, 2009
Diary of the Lost Things
Saturday afternoon in
In the meantime, all is different in the city centre. There are a lot of people walking, laughing or shopping. It is impossible to find a quite place to seat and relax on the street. In the middle of the crowd, one guitarist tries to earn some money. But nobody notice him.
However, a group of girls capture people’s attention. All of them wear colourful and trendy 80’s fashion clothes. They are going to the cinema, ignoring the musician while they shout for joy because they are going to see Zac Efron’s new movie.
Industrial parts of the city are like the guitarist. They are part of the city, but they are deserted, although they have a lot of potential.
By chance, two couples meet each other near the street musician. Attracted by music, their kids start dancing one Beatle’s song. Although their parents try to capture their attention, they stayed there, dancing and having fun.
Finally, one man who has enjoyed the scene, gives a coin to the guitarist.
Like this case, projects like Spinnerei also helps to redevelop industrial areas and tries to reincorporate them to the
Wednesday, May 27, 2009
Here you have some illustrations that I have done for the magazine.
I have done a mix with photos and regular basic colors. It creates a contrast effect that I think is interesting. Is like the contrast creaed in the post-industrial cities: old buildings mixed with modern art and buildings.
The illustrations are simple to take no role to the text, and at the same time they work like a stetic part of the magazine.
I have done a mix with photos and regular basic colors. It creates a contrast effect that I think is interesting. Is like the contrast creaed in the post-industrial cities: old buildings mixed with modern art and buildings.
The illustrations are simple to take no role to the text, and at the same time they work like a stetic part of the magazine.
Tuesday, May 26, 2009
.post-industrial city
For this text about post-industrial cities, I felt it would be better to show sa part of a work from a specialist in this area, due to the fact that it would be easier and better to understand this topic. The part that I chose are from "Post-industrial cities: politics and planning in New York, Paris and London" from H. V. Savitch, a Brown and Williamson Distinguished Research Professor from the School of Urban and Public Affairs of the University of Lousiville. Dr. Savitch has a wide field of specialization, such as: Urban politics, planning and developing; Public policy; International and comparative urban systems. He has done work on globalization and urban development as well as the comparative analysis of cities in Europe and North America. His publications explore questions related to how cities develop strategies to shape their built environments and the impacts of territorial re-scalling on city performance.
"The rise of post-industrialism changed urban politics. Political brokerage and monumentalism could no longer suffice. Energetic and imaginative policy leadership was required. The new politics faced the task of collecting bits and pieces of the social structure in order to build a vastly more complex city. To do this, policy direction would have to replace laissez faire, and collaboration would be a better substitute for unbridled competition. Post-industrialism also required immense investment from the private sector, whose risks would be mitigated by state guarantees.
The political signs pointed toward corporatism. The drift was gradual, in some cases incomplete, and it was not always susceptible to precise measurement. But the signs were unmistakable, and today they pervade the political mood of the post-industrial city.
One of the conditions of post-industrialism is an increased competition between cities as well as between nations. The post-industrial city represents not only itself, but the aspirations of its nation. Intranational competition results in advantages for jobs and taxes. International competition entails the higher stakes of world power, prestige and leadership. More and more, distinctions are made between military and economic might, and though the post-industrial city can do little to bolster national defense, it epitomizes economic prowess.
Another condition of post-industrialism is the complexity of building a brand new physical environment. Streets, highways, reail terminals, airports, office towers, shopping malls, parks, theaters, museums, houses, hospitals, universities, and research centers need to be constructed with and eye toward the demographics of the 21st century. Construction itself is a straightforward and a matter of technical mastery. The challenge is to accomplish this smoothly while synchronizing an enormous number of transactions. Facilities need to be coordinated, finances need to be secured, and a whole new system of laws needs to be worked out. There emerges a labyrinth of negotiations between buyers and sellers, landlords and tenants, and those about to take possession and those about to be dispossessed.
(...)politicians are handed the consuming taks of making it all work. No longer can the singular role of neutral intermediary be suffecient. To make it happend, politicians and technocrats assume responsibility.
Still a third condition has been the rise of assurer goverment. Politics no longer ends after ribbon-cutting ceremonies. It continues to insure all parties against the risks of change. Investors are given long-term leases with options to buy, tenants are promised priority housing with moderate rents, citizens are provided with open spaces. The single instituition to which the disgruntled turn is the government. Politicians become responsible for the buisness failures, the destruction of community, and the personal dislocations that ensue from the new environment. Despite neoconservative efforts to reduce government, post-industrialism entices its expansion. Issues that at first glance appear resolvable become pregnant with further issues. Involvement begets further involvement and obligations multiply.
Moreover, the obligations put before politicians are often contradictory.
Whatever formula urban politicians have adopted, they must engage the social and economic system. Passive politics and the politician as "caretaker" are absolete. Post-industrial politicians must exercise power on theire own and must harness it to public purpose. These purposes involve a certain amount of planning. It can be short-term, peicemal planning or it can resemble a long-term comprehensive strategy. But once an already built environment is given the challenge of post-industrial change, planning is inevitable. The thrust for change and the planning that ensues from it help generate the policy outputs of the post-industrial city."
Manuel Madureira e Silva
"The rise of post-industrialism changed urban politics. Political brokerage and monumentalism could no longer suffice. Energetic and imaginative policy leadership was required. The new politics faced the task of collecting bits and pieces of the social structure in order to build a vastly more complex city. To do this, policy direction would have to replace laissez faire, and collaboration would be a better substitute for unbridled competition. Post-industrialism also required immense investment from the private sector, whose risks would be mitigated by state guarantees.
The political signs pointed toward corporatism. The drift was gradual, in some cases incomplete, and it was not always susceptible to precise measurement. But the signs were unmistakable, and today they pervade the political mood of the post-industrial city.
One of the conditions of post-industrialism is an increased competition between cities as well as between nations. The post-industrial city represents not only itself, but the aspirations of its nation. Intranational competition results in advantages for jobs and taxes. International competition entails the higher stakes of world power, prestige and leadership. More and more, distinctions are made between military and economic might, and though the post-industrial city can do little to bolster national defense, it epitomizes economic prowess.
Another condition of post-industrialism is the complexity of building a brand new physical environment. Streets, highways, reail terminals, airports, office towers, shopping malls, parks, theaters, museums, houses, hospitals, universities, and research centers need to be constructed with and eye toward the demographics of the 21st century. Construction itself is a straightforward and a matter of technical mastery. The challenge is to accomplish this smoothly while synchronizing an enormous number of transactions. Facilities need to be coordinated, finances need to be secured, and a whole new system of laws needs to be worked out. There emerges a labyrinth of negotiations between buyers and sellers, landlords and tenants, and those about to take possession and those about to be dispossessed.
(...)politicians are handed the consuming taks of making it all work. No longer can the singular role of neutral intermediary be suffecient. To make it happend, politicians and technocrats assume responsibility.
Still a third condition has been the rise of assurer goverment. Politics no longer ends after ribbon-cutting ceremonies. It continues to insure all parties against the risks of change. Investors are given long-term leases with options to buy, tenants are promised priority housing with moderate rents, citizens are provided with open spaces. The single instituition to which the disgruntled turn is the government. Politicians become responsible for the buisness failures, the destruction of community, and the personal dislocations that ensue from the new environment. Despite neoconservative efforts to reduce government, post-industrialism entices its expansion. Issues that at first glance appear resolvable become pregnant with further issues. Involvement begets further involvement and obligations multiply.
Moreover, the obligations put before politicians are often contradictory.
Whatever formula urban politicians have adopted, they must engage the social and economic system. Passive politics and the politician as "caretaker" are absolete. Post-industrial politicians must exercise power on theire own and must harness it to public purpose. These purposes involve a certain amount of planning. It can be short-term, peicemal planning or it can resemble a long-term comprehensive strategy. But once an already built environment is given the challenge of post-industrial change, planning is inevitable. The thrust for change and the planning that ensues from it help generate the policy outputs of the post-industrial city."
Manuel Madureira e Silva
a beach in the middle of Germany
The Cospudener See (sometimes translated as
Getting to Cossi seemed to be quite difficult because of its lack of different transports, there is only a way by tram nº 13 and then by bus nº 65. Slowly we were leaving behind the city of
However, there were always tools which reminded us the city and its activities. As we were moving away of
It is hard to imagine a beach like this in the middle of
Monday, May 25, 2009
Route in Leipzig
Everything is good marked... you only must to follow the arrows... and you will can to have plans for aaaaaaaall the week. ¿On Saturday is the factory closed? Don't worry!!! You can to go to the center and spend your money and time. ¿On Sunday are also the shops closed?... Don't care!! You can to go to waste your day in the zoo!!!
Tuesday, May 19, 2009
Empty Fields-Exposed
The trip to Leipzig for the day exposed me to a different way of life, one where city life and suburbia can coexist, yet be contained in separate worlds. It was a great experience for me, from the BMW building- including the lengthy travel time, to the gallery, and even the chance to see a "city" from a New Yorker's perspective. Throughout my travels in Germany I have found daily life to be quite different than I am used to. It is very interesting to explore other metropolitan areas and learn from them. In Leipzig there are many facets that make up this unique place including diversity and urbanization.
After a two hour ride to Leipzig, I took a tram with two other girls heading towards the BMW factory. The tram brought us to a deserted place where there was a beautiful building. Next to the building stood the flags of every country. I stood there, as an American with a Spanish girl and a Belgian girl and reflected on the connection we have with each other as students, standing under our national symbols. There are so many problems in the world, yet for this unique moment all the problems dissipate in my mind and I only thought of the world's similarities. Each flag represents a nation, a culture and a person. When viewed together all the flags appear uniform-all are rectangular atop a high pole. Yet when in focus one can see the differences between the colors and symbols embroidered on them. I though about this connection while waiting for the bus to come, in the middle of a strange place where there were no other visitors in sight.
Then the bus came taking us to the BMW factory. On the ride there we passed fields full of healthy green grass. Coming from a strictly urban background I marveled in the idea that one could live in a small house with no neighbors in sight, where one could completely disappear. Back in the United States I often see old factories in city centers polluting the sky with clouds of smoke. The factories in the United States can not even compare to the beauty of the BMW factory in Leipzig. The drive there presented many questions. I began to wonder how in Leipzig there are extreme opposites of urbanization from consumerism to suburban farmland in the same vicinity.
When we arrived at the BMW factory, we stepped off the bus into a parking lot filled with cars-most not BMW brand. There were no people in sight. We explored the building designed by Zaha Hadid. It was really very beautiful and complex. We walked around the factory complex taking tons of pictures and had a look at some of their new models. We saw at the most 10 people come and go from the building, probably factory workers.
After the BMW factory we went to the city center to immerse ourselves in the consumerism and urban atmosphere of Leipzig. We watched people shop, eat and have fun. It reminded me a lot of my neighborhood back home on any given day. Except in Leipzig the city center was only a few blocks long and there were probably more people out because it was a Saturday.
In the evening we went to a gallery to have a tour from the curator of a photo exhibition about the fall of the Berlin wall. I thoroughly enjoyed this exhibit and felt a real connection with the people in the photographs. I think it's interesting how even though I was not in Germany during this time and have no physical connection with the event, seeing the personal photographs collected from people around the world helped me to better grasp the emotions the people felt. The photos were arranged in a way that left a lot up to the viewer. As a child in the United States we learn in history class the notion of the Berlin wall but in a way that made it seems so distant and I never completely understood how life for the common person must have been during this time. I think this historical event is often not talked about in the United States with the same integrity as it is here in Germany.
At the end of the day, when the sun had already set, we took the train back to the small town of Weimar. Overall it was a great day and taught me a lot about urbanization in a different setting.
After a two hour ride to Leipzig, I took a tram with two other girls heading towards the BMW factory. The tram brought us to a deserted place where there was a beautiful building. Next to the building stood the flags of every country. I stood there, as an American with a Spanish girl and a Belgian girl and reflected on the connection we have with each other as students, standing under our national symbols. There are so many problems in the world, yet for this unique moment all the problems dissipate in my mind and I only thought of the world's similarities. Each flag represents a nation, a culture and a person. When viewed together all the flags appear uniform-all are rectangular atop a high pole. Yet when in focus one can see the differences between the colors and symbols embroidered on them. I though about this connection while waiting for the bus to come, in the middle of a strange place where there were no other visitors in sight.
Then the bus came taking us to the BMW factory. On the ride there we passed fields full of healthy green grass. Coming from a strictly urban background I marveled in the idea that one could live in a small house with no neighbors in sight, where one could completely disappear. Back in the United States I often see old factories in city centers polluting the sky with clouds of smoke. The factories in the United States can not even compare to the beauty of the BMW factory in Leipzig. The drive there presented many questions. I began to wonder how in Leipzig there are extreme opposites of urbanization from consumerism to suburban farmland in the same vicinity.
When we arrived at the BMW factory, we stepped off the bus into a parking lot filled with cars-most not BMW brand. There were no people in sight. We explored the building designed by Zaha Hadid. It was really very beautiful and complex. We walked around the factory complex taking tons of pictures and had a look at some of their new models. We saw at the most 10 people come and go from the building, probably factory workers.
After the BMW factory we went to the city center to immerse ourselves in the consumerism and urban atmosphere of Leipzig. We watched people shop, eat and have fun. It reminded me a lot of my neighborhood back home on any given day. Except in Leipzig the city center was only a few blocks long and there were probably more people out because it was a Saturday.
In the evening we went to a gallery to have a tour from the curator of a photo exhibition about the fall of the Berlin wall. I thoroughly enjoyed this exhibit and felt a real connection with the people in the photographs. I think it's interesting how even though I was not in Germany during this time and have no physical connection with the event, seeing the personal photographs collected from people around the world helped me to better grasp the emotions the people felt. The photos were arranged in a way that left a lot up to the viewer. As a child in the United States we learn in history class the notion of the Berlin wall but in a way that made it seems so distant and I never completely understood how life for the common person must have been during this time. I think this historical event is often not talked about in the United States with the same integrity as it is here in Germany.
At the end of the day, when the sun had already set, we took the train back to the small town of Weimar. Overall it was a great day and taught me a lot about urbanization in a different setting.
Empty Fields-Exposed
The trip to Leipzig for the day exposed me to a different way of life, one where city life and suburbia can coexist, yet be contained in separate worlds. It was a great experience for me, from the BMW building- including the lengthy travel time, to the gallery, and even the chance to see a "city" from a New Yorker's perspective. Throughout my travels in Germany I have found daily life to be quite different than I am used to. It is very interesting to explore other metropolitan areas and learn from them. In Leipzig there are many facets that make up this unique place including diversity and urbanization.
After a two hour ride to Leipzig, I took a tram with two other girls heading towards the BMW factory. The tram brought us to a deserted place where there was a beautiful building. Next to the building stood the flags of every country. I stood there, as an American with a Spanish girl and a Belgian girl and reflected on the connection we have with each other as students, standing under our national symbols. There are so many problems in the world, yet for this unique moment all the problems dissipate in my mind and I only thought of the world's similarities. Each flag represents a nation, a culture and a person. When viewed together all the flags appear uniform-all are rectangular atop a high pole. Yet when in focus one can see the differences between the colors and symbols embroidered on them. I though about this connection while waiting for the bus to come, in the middle of a strange place where there were no other visitors in sight.
Then the bus came taking us to the BMW factory. On the ride there we passed fields full of healthy green grass. Coming from a strictly urban background I marveled in the idea that one could live in a small house with no neighbors in sight, where one could completely disappear. Back in the United States I often see old factories in city centers polluting the sky with clouds of smoke. The factories in the United States can not even compare to the beauty of the BMW factory in Leipzig. The drive there presented many questions. I began to wonder how in Leipzig there are extreme opposites of urbanization from consumerism to suburban farmland in the same vicinity.
When we arrived at the BMW factory, we stepped off the bus into a parking lot filled with cars-most not BMW brand. There were no people in sight. We explored the building designed by Zaha Hadid. It was really very beautiful and complex. We walked around the factory complex taking tons of pictures and had a look at some of their new models. We saw at the most 10 people come and go from the building, probably factory workers.
After the BMW factory we went to the city center to immerse ourselves in the consumerism and urban atmosphere of Leipzig. We watched people shop, eat and have fun. It reminded me a lot of my neighborhood back home on any given day. Except in Leipzig the city center was only a few blocks long and there were probably more people out because it was a Saturday.
In the evening we went to a gallery to have a tour from the curator of a photo exhibition about the fall of the Berlin wall. I thoroughly enjoyed this exhibit and felt a real connection with the people in the photographs. I think it's interesting how even though I was not in Germany during this time and have no physical connection with the event, seeing the personal photographs collected from people around the world helped me to better grasp the emotions the people felt. The photos were arranged in a way that left a lot up to the viewer. As a child in the United States we learn in history class the notion of the Berlin wall but in a way that made it seems so distant and I never completely understood how life for the common person must have been during this time. I think this historical event is often not talked about in the United States with the same integrity as it is here in Germany.
At the end of the day, when the sun had already set, we took the train back to the small town of Weimar. Overall it was a great day and taught me a lot about urbanization in a different setting.
After a two hour ride to Leipzig, I took a tram with two other girls heading towards the BMW factory. The tram brought us to a deserted place where there was a beautiful building. Next to the building stood the flags of every country. I stood there, as an American with a Spanish girl and a Belgian girl and reflected on the connection we have with each other as students, standing under our national symbols. There are so many problems in the world, yet for this unique moment all the problems dissipate in my mind and I only thought of the world's similarities. Each flag represents a nation, a culture and a person. When viewed together all the flags appear uniform-all are rectangular atop a high pole. Yet when in focus one can see the differences between the colors and symbols embroidered on them. I though about this connection while waiting for the bus to come, in the middle of a strange place where there were no other visitors in sight.
Then the bus came taking us to the BMW factory. On the ride there we passed fields full of healthy green grass. Coming from a strictly urban background I marveled in the idea that one could live in a small house with no neighbors in sight, where one could completely disappear. Back in the United States I often see old factories in city centers polluting the sky with clouds of smoke. The factories in the United States can not even compare to the beauty of the BMW factory in Leipzig. The drive there presented many questions. I began to wonder how in Leipzig there are extreme opposites of urbanization from consumerism to suburban farmland in the same vicinity.
When we arrived at the BMW factory, we stepped off the bus into a parking lot filled with cars-most not BMW brand. There were no people in sight. We explored the building designed by Zaha Hadid. It was really very beautiful and complex. We walked around the factory complex taking tons of pictures and had a look at some of their new models. We saw at the most 10 people come and go from the building, probably factory workers.
After the BMW factory we went to the city center to immerse ourselves in the consumerism and urban atmosphere of Leipzig. We watched people shop, eat and have fun. It reminded me a lot of my neighborhood back home on any given day. Except in Leipzig the city center was only a few blocks long and there were probably more people out because it was a Saturday.
In the evening we went to a gallery to have a tour from the curator of a photo exhibition about the fall of the Berlin wall. I thoroughly enjoyed this exhibit and felt a real connection with the people in the photographs. I think it's interesting how even though I was not in Germany during this time and have no physical connection with the event, seeing the personal photographs collected from people around the world helped me to better grasp the emotions the people felt. The photos were arranged in a way that left a lot up to the viewer. As a child in the United States we learn in history class the notion of the Berlin wall but in a way that made it seems so distant and I never completely understood how life for the common person must have been during this time. I think this historical event is often not talked about in the United States with the same integrity as it is here in Germany.
At the end of the day, when the sun had already set, we took the train back to the small town of Weimar. Overall it was a great day and taught me a lot about urbanization in a different setting.
Monday, May 18, 2009
a personal view, by marjan
Leipzig
A sunny day, a great travel, the beginning of the discovery of a redeveloped post-industrial city. With our eyes wide open and our camera ready to shoot, we started our day. Although the city was developed as a post-industrial city, it is noawadays transformed into a commercial and attractive city.
We went there, to look for the roots of the city: so our desteny is clear: industry. After a long tram-ride, we arrived in the Messe-area, where we were waiting for half an hour to get to our final destination: the BMW-factory. The stop in the Messe-area showed us a nice sample of contemporary architecture, offices and congress-centra were rising up from the ground! But since it was a Saturday, the site was deserted. A typical German thing became very clear, people work during the week, and take of in the weekends, this results in a desolated erea. Travelling further to BMW, we took a bus trough the fields surrounding Leipzig, small villages, or even rather groups of houses, rised up in the horizon, and disappeared in the same way they appeared, till we saw the next one rising in the horizon. Finally we arrived at the factory, which was also deserted (since it’s a Saturday). The arrival at the building, designed by Zaha Hadid was pretty nice though. The way she designed the parking lot and the whole site made that the visitor got to see the factory from different angles, but never frontal, since there is not really of frontal side in the facade she designed.
After making a lot of (architectural) photo’s, we returned to the living hart of Leizig, and started mixing ourselves with the comsumers of the city, who keep the hart of the city beating during the day.
After visiting the art/photo gallery, we returned to the city centre. Once we arrived there, we realised, that the living hart of the city started beating on a lower rythm onces the shops are closed. That’s only for a few hours though, because a few hours later the sparking nightlive gave a new boost to the city and that’s when the hart starts beating at a higher rythm again!
LEIPZIG
S.
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Wednesday, May 6, 2009
BROKE 3: a magazine on post industrial sexiness
The Blockseminar (4 SWS) for Broke 3 will start next week...
Get ready and take note of the dates:
>>
introduction:
14 may. 18:30-20:00
15 may. 14:00-16:00
16may. excursion to Leipzig 9-18:00
development:
29, 30 may, from 11:00-18:00
19, 20 june, from 11:00-18:00
public release:
9 july. 18:30-20:00
the list of participants will be open for inscriptions in the first meeting
Get ready and take note of the dates:
>>
introduction:
14 may. 18:30-20:00
15 may. 14:00-16:00
16may. excursion to Leipzig 9-18:00
development:
29, 30 may, from 11:00-18:00
19, 20 june, from 11:00-18:00
public release:
9 july. 18:30-20:00
the list of participants will be open for inscriptions in the first meeting
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