Ericsson Thinking about Smart Cities
Nice pictures with soundtrack from marimba to Bach’s Goldberg Variations, a good dose of rethoric about future smart cities and some good contributions are featured in this video published in the Ericsson multimedia channel on Youtube. If you are patient enough to resist the first 4 minutes then you can enjoy Carlo Ratti (Director of MIT’s Senseable City Lab) comparing urban development to Formula One racing and describing the Trash Tracking Project. Nigel Jacobs (Co-chair of Mayor’s Office of New Urban Mechanics in the City of Boston) about participatory urbanism, as a mean not only to improve public service’s efficiency, but also to rebuild trust with the public using mobile apps like Citizens Connect. In the end Jonas Claesson (Urban Planner) illustrates the Stockholm Royal Seaport project, a brand new urban development that promises to be a smart quarter for smart people, using ICT to deliver a carbon free economy.
Decoding Design / Matthew Carmona (UCL) about Delivering Public Realm
“Good design and planning should not necessarily cost more. If anything it should save money in the long run.” Being interviewed is Matthew Carmona, Professor of Planning and Urban Design at The Bartlett School of Planning, UCL and Lead Expert of URBACT’s HOPUS project. For example during a visit to Rome Carmona visited a suburban extension dominated by roads and parking. “All in all there was a lack of vitality and the sorts of social spaces that you expect in an Italian city. But all of those things can be provided by just thinking differently about the reorientation of buildings, how to integrate the highways within the plan and so forth. This does not cost more to deliver, it just requires a different way of thinking and designing. It’s about having a place based view of the outcomes.”
Contemporary architecture in the expanding suburbs of Rome
How cities govern the design of new development?
HOPUS has brought academics and practitioners together from across Europe to discuss questions of design and sustainability in housing and its regulation through public sector guidance and control. Matthew Carmona’s research focuses on the broad area of urban design, and in particular on how cities govern the design of new development. “I did some work for the UK government on design codes, because the UK government was very interested in whether design codes could be a mechanism for delivering better quality investment and also for speeding up the planning process. I published that work and a little later on I got asked to join URBACT’s HOPUS project as the lead expert to share my knowledge about design codes.”
Residential neighbohrhoods in Gdansk
The benefits of good urban design
In an article for HOPUS titled ‘Decoding Design Coding’ Carmona questions whether it might be possible to “‘boil down some higher order urban design principles in order to establish a set of irreducible minimum standards for delivering a more human, coherent and sustainable public realm? In other words, what are the urban design ‘must-haves’ that might form the basis of country by country regulations in order to overcome our seeming inability to deliver better ‘suburbanism’?” (Carmona, 2010). Good urban design is essentially about achieving good, sustainable places for people. A good urban design process is about achieving places that are better than it would otherwise be possible to achieve if you let the market have a free rein. Good urban design helps to establish the correct framework within which better investment can occur, within which better social outcomes result and in which better environmental results can be achieved.
Different kind of public space in Barcelona
“At its most basic, design guidance can be defined as: a generic term for a range of tools that set out design parameters with the intention of better directing the design of development. Different countries have different traditions and use different forms of guidance to a greater or lesser degree.” (Carmona, 2010). What can we learn from design guidance? And how is design guidance arranged in European countries?
“I think there are probably examples of good design guidance in most countries.” Design guidance comes in many forms. On the one hand design guidance may deliver a basic set of design principles to loosely guide a development process. On the other design guidance can be very detailed and prescriptive and aimed at delivering a closely specified form of development. “They can both lead to successful outcomes. Particularly around the suburbs of town where too often we let engineering matters (design of the roads and so forth) and rather crude planning standards (for example open space standards) dictate the design rather than principles based on the sort of places that we wish to see. Good design guidance establishes a clear vision of place, the sort of places we wish to live or work in.”
Carmona suggests 9 simple rules to overcome many problems within urban planning/projects.
- Streets should form a continuous urban network with each street joining at least two others.
- Streets should be designed for a maximum vehicle speed of 30Km/h
- Every street and/or building block should host at least two (preferably more) major land uses.
- Buildings should face public space and create a coherent, continuous building line.
- Blank facades at street level should not be allowed.
- Space for private front planting and/or street trees should be provided.
- Setbacks and front gardens should never be covered by any more than 30% parking.
- Existing trees, landscape and natural features should determine site layout and character.
- Design to reduce, re-use and recycle natural and energy resources
Old and new architecture get together in Delft
By contrast “Design codes can adopt such simple rules but are often a far more detailed planning and design tool, requiring a lot of upfront work to put them together. As a consequence if you look at the whole development process, design codes don’t actually speed that process. If anything they can make the design process longer because you need much more time to develop the detailed design framework up-front. However, where they do score is in large development schemes built out over many phases. In such circumstance design codes help to speed up the development process further down the line for later phases of the project, helping also to coordinate the different parts of a large site. In such circumstance I’d like to see a wider use of codes. They are a valuable tool, although not everywhere. For large scale long-term projects, however, design codes coordinate design over time and ensure that the essential place based qualities are achieved.”
Quality through variety in Vauban, Kirchsteigfeld (D) Borneo and Sporenburg (NL)
Citizen participation within urban design
Some cities are much more active at including citizens than others. “Personally I don’t feel that a good design process is necessarily reliant on citizen participation. If you have good designers and developers with a clear view of the sort of place they would like to create, then you can create good places without having any citizen involvement, particularly in a new neighbourhood where there may be no existing residents. It’s obviously different when you are building within an established neighbourhood. Then of course citizens should be involved and have a valuable contribution to make to informing the design process.”
Examples of poor quality housing in England
A different way of thinking and designing
Across Europe, Carmona argues, in the not too distant past we have designed and constructed places that a few years later we are having to rebuild because they did not stand the test of time. In the UK many social housing schemes from the ‘1950s and ‘60s are now being demolished and replaced. “This is not just because of design factors, but poor design can contribute to a place deteriorating and thereby to wider social problems over time.” In the UK companies such as Urban Splash have a reputation for going into such places and turning them around by re-imaging them. But this typically requires large amounts of sustained public subsidy to make this happen. “By thinking about places more carefully and coherently during the planning phase, we stand more chance of getting them right over the long-term. saving time and money in the process through avoiding the need for radical changes later on.” Design codes and other forms of design guidance have an important role to play in this, they can help us achieve a more human coherent and sustainable public realm.
The scandinavian way. Hammarby Sjöstad
Bella Italia. Part II
Last November Italy was hit by heavy storm and flash floods. Some people died, many more were injured and lost their properties. Since a couple of days another extreme climate event is making victims, severe disasters and interruptions in necessary services not only in northern Europe, but also in central Italy, in the Apennines and along the Adria coast. This time is heavy snowfalls and Siberian temperature that stops circulation on the roads, trains and electric power supply, close schools and public offices in many parts of Italy and in some cases seclude entire villages for days. Again we are faced with the usuality of the unexpected, again we are not prepared. Well, at least many were not prepared (too many) meanwhile others did.
In Milan we were waiting for the stormy weather since a couple of days and, remembering the disasters of 2006, everybody was worried about what could happen. A a matter of fact, at the end snowfalls were not so heavy, shovellers of snow and salt spreader reacted promptly and what could have been the usual urban blockade was a freezing cold morning with lots of material to make snowmen.
I couldn’t help taking some pictures and enjoyed the graphic effect that fresh snow makes onto architecture, trees, benches, hedges, handrails, tram wires, bicycles etc. Waiting for the next extraordinary weather event I wish everyone would experience these days like I did.
Related articles
- Bella Italia (welldesignedandbuilt.com)
Interview with Grafton Architects
Almost every day I take the tram in Porta Lodovica and watch over the extension of the Bocconi school of economics designed by Grafton Architects. The building (completed 2009 and result of an international design competition) won several architectural awards in the last years thanks to his rigorous, expressive and uncompromising architectural language. Yet it works well and is beloved by its users. It is a seldom building reconciliating critics, users, professionals and builders, naturally advocating the civil role of architecture with its presence. In my opinion the best public building built in the city since decades.
Here you can download and read the recent conversation I had with architects Yvonne Farrel and Shelley McNamara, published on Costruire in laterizio 144. The issue dedicated to Dubliners brick architecture featuring projects by O’Donnell+Tuomey Architects, DTA Architects, Donnelly Turpin Architects, Niall McLaughlin Architects, A2 Architects and others. Our conversations starts by the Bocconi, extends to their working method and architectural approach and anticipates some of their next realisations.
One of these days I will have a walk around and inside the Bocconi extension, take some pictures and add them to this post.
Job Roos is a rare example of Dutch architect dedicated to the retrofitting of existing buildings. His expertise has become highly requested now that it has become clear the urgency of adapting our cities for sustainable development and that the most sustainable way to do it is to upgrade existing buildings. The paradigm shift from demolition&new building to retrofitting of existing buildings in the Netherlands has been symbolically marked by a traumatic event: the fire that destroyed the Architecture Faculty of the TU Delft on 13th May 2008. That shocking experience and the quick and smart re-birth of the Bouwkunde Faculty from its ashes was the subject of Job Roos’s presentation in a workshop of the URBACT LINKS Network in Veria (Greece). After the workshop I had the chance to ask Job a couple of questions about the relationship between contemporary architecture and heritage conservation in his country.
- The Netherlands is a man-made land where almost nothing is natural. Dutch people are well knows for their capacity to face problems and find innovative and pragmatic solutions. Sometimes they do it without caring too much about legacy of the past or the so-called genius loci. Is this attitude changing in recent years?
One can sense the changing attitude. What certainly does help is the world-crisis since 2008. More and more we are forced to use the existing building-stock, about 70 % of the design-task for next generations is in the re-use of the existing. For instance there is a lot of office space empty in the Netherlands (about 7 million square meters), and another example in 2020 about 1200 churches will be without use. Not such an easy task to transform these buildings into more economical use, but there is a strong wish to do so. Government supports this approach, but the market is still not on the real move. As far as the legacy of the past is concerned, it is positive that we have to deal more and more with the existing. Economically driven yes, innovation and pragmatic will come up as is the Dutch attitude for ages already in this by man controlled delta. But there also is the chance for professional designers and developers to train ourselves and the public in the unique possibilities our frozen culture offers us. And we do need to work hard on this.
- Is the restoration of built heritage a sustainable cost for municipalities with scarce resources and a real estate sector in difficulty?
I would rather answer the question out of the perspective of the developer. My experience that the projects which are still on the move are those with a thorough link with history. In fact one could add to the previous question, that the public is still willing to invest more for their houses in something with a profound link to history. I can see this happen in my own projects that are still on the move such as the re-use of an old rope-factory (added with the presence of nice landscape), the re-use of military complexes and also on locations of industrial heritage. The real problems for redevelopment one can see in the vast stock of office-space where culture is not the strongest feature. Here we need a total new approach for redevelopment which really goes beyond the individual objects. It concerns sustainable investment in city patterns with the focus on added value. Success is dependent on multidisciplinarity and unorthodox approach.
- What are the cornerstones of a coherent, creative, sustainable and future proof management of historical city centers?
I would say a wide perspective on future possibilities. Therefore a good sensibility of what was, what is and what could be. As a matter of fact a lot of knowledge and skills concerning the past to manage the past into the future. To be successful in process one needs a good balance and communication between (local) government and their civil servants and advisers. This means being very professional and having the right expertise and attitude and a real and good managed involvement of the public. The understanding of value and how to handle it (cultural, social, emotional, economical value etc.) in a good balance may be the main cornerstone for the development into the future of our past. Therefore we need social and contextual intelligence amongst our the important stakeholders.
Prof. Roos suggested to conclude and illustrate this short interview with some pictures of a much debated project in Rotterdam: the renovation of the Post building proposed by UN-Studio. The project is about the radical transformation of the old Post Office in the center of Rotterdam into a shopping center, while keeping its main architectural features. His opinion about it is that “if one can look (and is willing to search) behind the design task and its possible meaning for the city, it could work.”
View of the exterior in 1927
View of the main hall in 1927
View of the existing building (2007)
Refurbishment Project – Groundlevel of the Main Hall
Refurbishment Project – Interior Main Hall from the Mezzanine Floor
Sideview of the existing building
Refurbishment Project – Perspective View from the Main StreetIoanna Papayianni (University of Thessaloniki) about Heritage Repair and Maintenance in Greece
Professor Ioanna Papayianni, chemist and civil engineer, is an expert at an international level in the rehabilitation of cultural heritage, carrying out scientific research on building techniques and materials of monuments from all periods at the University of Thessaloniki. At the URBACT LINKS Network Workshop in Veria she presented research findings related to the rehabilitation of the city’s historical center and the workprogram she has started as a contribution to the Network. Her presentation is one of the most significant contributions to the workshop and reading the introduction is useful to understand its rigorous approach:
Veria is one of the most important Historic centers in the South Eastern Europe. Apart from Byzantine churches, the old buildings (private or public houses) have been constructed from the pre-industrial revolution period up to the early decades of the 20th century. They constitute a great part of its cultural heritage which testify the historic and socio-economic background of the area.
The historic buildings of Veria could be categorized (according to their style) into those of vernacular architecture, which have been developed in the recent past in South East Europe and in those of neo classicism or eclectic architecture.
Most of historic buildings have been abandoned and destroyed by overloading and earthquake vibrations, as well as by the ageing effects due to moisture and other deterioration factors of the environmental conditions. Some of them have been repaired and retrofitted with concrete, very often without any respect to their characteristics of traditional structures.
The importance of the proper repair and maintenance, as well as their revival and incorporation into the modern city, for the benefit of historic buildings, society and local economy has been well defined in the frame of URBACT LINKS project.
Therefore, developing a strategy for the repair, maintenance and upgrading of historic buildings, which will be based on the well established principles of restoration is of first priority, for their incorporation into the contemporary plan of the city. Furthermore, an estimation of their energy efficiency is required to make them habitable again. As known, the old buildings are inherently green, because they were designed to be climatically appropriate. However, climate has changed, especially in urban regions and energy efficiency of an old building is questionable.
After the workshop I had the opportunity to ask some questions to prof. Papayianni.
- Greece has undergone major changes in the last decade. With the turn of the century, joining the Euro and hosting the Olympic games the country has been projected into the future from its world apart. Is the modernization causing damages for the urban and built heritage or has it been an opportunity?
During the last decade, most of large infrastructure projects were carried out in Athens. The impact of all relevant activities for modernization of the city was rather positive, since old buildings were restored and archaeological sites were conserved.
- What are the main threads for Greek historical cities? Can Europe play a positive role in their safeguard and restoration?
The main threads are lack of funds and strategy for protection and upgrading of the historical centers, apart from natural disasters, such as earthquakes, floods and fires. Because of inadequate and inconsistent stewardship of cultural assets they are exploited inappropriately, resulting in many problems, against the preservation of the identity of the historical centers and buildings.
- What are the cornerstones of a coherent, creative, sustainable and future proof management of historical city centers?
A strategic policy to be established by local authorities, who will be compelled to implement it. It will concern:
(a) Record of old building asset and categorize them.
(b) The conservation and stabilization of them.
(c) Creation of motives to keep them active.
(d) Take into account the harmonization of historical centers to any expanding of the city and avoiding the development of large cities.
(e) Make citizens active in protecting heritage.
(f) Continuous efforts for upgrading historical centers.
Prada Fall/Winter Man Collection – Fashion Show Design by OMA
Architecture, Fashion, Cinema and New Media are the ingredients of the new Prada Gesamtkunstwerk, introduced and streamed on OMA‘s and Prada‘s websites, commented by Samuel Medina on Architizer.
Related articles
- Rem Koolhaas – designing the design process (notura.com)
- Deconstructing Rem Koolhaas – (welldesignedandbuilt.com)
Costa Concordia @ Isola del Giglio | Jan. 14, 2012
A Room with a View
1 minute of building site of the new congress center by Massimiliano Fuksas, seen from my hotel room in Rome Eur on Jan. 12, 2012.
Below two pictures with a little bit higher resolution, one view by night
and the second taken in the morning
Learning from Veria – Heritage as an Opportunity
In 1968 two teachers at the Architecture Faculty of Yale went with a few students to Las Vegas for a study visit. Two years after the outcome of this experience was published first and, with little changes, in 1972 in its definitive shape . 40 years after Learning from Las Vegas, the text that brought to international attention the theories about complexity and contradiction in architecture by Robert Venturi and Denise Scott Brown, is still an enjoyable and stimulating reading, it is the neon signage on the front of a sophisticated and sharp criticism to the classical principles of Modern Architecture. Many good ideas with abominable results in the so-called post-modern architecture that infested the late Seventies and Eighties worldwide.
In the meanwhile the debate about the linguistic features of modern architecture faded away, but a book like Learning from Las Vegas still provides inspiring reflections about the basic principles of urban development. In Italy it has been re-published in 2010 by Quodlibet, raising a renewed interest as a contribution to the debate about urban sprawl, suburbanization and room for new models of urban development in a globalized world.
This short introduction recalling Robert Venturi’s book is to explain the title of this post that is about some pictures of a Greek Macedonian city – Veria – and the final report of an international workshop on the technical aspects of urban heritage regeneration that took place there in May 2011 in the framework of the URBACT LINKS Network.
Needless to say that Las Vegas and Veria have nothing in common; they could be seen as two opposite ends of urbanisation processes. On the other side I like to recall Venturi’s book to underline how much we can learn from the observation of a city and how it can help understanding others, even if extremely different.
That was the experience made by the URBACT LINKS partners in Veria, well reflected in the comprehensive report edited by Kleopatra Theologidou (Host Partner City of Veria), Frédérique Calvanus (Lead Partner City of Bayonne) and myself as Lead Expert of the Network, including a.o. contributions by prof. Job Roos (TU Delft) and prof. Ioanna Papayianni (University of Thessaloniki).
From the reports and newsletter I like to quote the following text summarizing the outcomes of the workshop in relationship to the local challenges.
Heritage as an opportunity
Built at the foot of the Vermion Mountains, on the axis of important ancient roads, Veria, a small city with a population of 45,000 inhabitants, is 2,500 years old. Veria possesses fertile hinterland and rich waters, which helped its rapid growth and continuous historical presence. It is perhaps one of the few Greek cities that kept the same name and location for such a long period. The historic traces from the different eras are numerous, however, most of them were hidden and interspersed among the urban fabric as it was created in the latter part of the 20th century. Amongst these, a strong presence of 45 Byzantine and post Byzantine churches with important frescoes, Muslim monuments and a synagogue in the Jewish neighbourhood.
“Just a few decades ago, Veria had a completely different image with a completely different potential. Its image today varies and we could describe it as disappointing when referring to its architectural heritage. By participating in the LINKS programme, we are seeking to produce a plan of action for the eco-restoration of the historic centre that will transform the problem into an asset and that will convert Veria into an exemplary city; a city of innovation. A city which is environmentally friendly, as well as friendly to its citizens, thus contributing to the improvement of the quality of life, local development and the revitalization of the local economy.”
A different analysis of the challenges facing the city of Veria was introduced by representatives of the local authorities and members of the URBACT Local Support Group (ULSG) during the public session on the first workshop day. In particular, the speech made by Kleopatra Theologidou, from which the quotes are taken, set out the frame of Veria’s partnership in the LINKS network and the technical aspects of the revitalization of its historic city centre.
“It can be said today that there is no distinct and coherent historic centre. Some parts of the town have maintained their traditional character but they are dispersed. Here is LINKS’ first challenge and the possibility to propose environmentally friendly interventions to restore the continuity of these areas and take advantage of the knowledge and experience developed during the collaboration with our partners.
Using the knowledge, methods and guidelines recommended by our partners will ensure comfortable living conditions in the historic buildings and at the same time protect and preserve their values. As these values differ from one building to another, it is a challenge that could have an important impact not only locally but on a wider geographical scale, including buildings similar to ours.
In short, what are these building characteristics and what is the situation in Veria today?
The historic buildings in Veria could be classified in 2 main categories: the older ones which follow traditional patterns and the later, which follow traditional patterns influenced by other European architectural styles. Of course, in between, there are many variations and transitional types.
The main characteristics of the first category are the introverted and the defensive forms towards the public space, a form that changes dramatically towards the courtyard where the scenery is quite different. Outdoor and semi-outdoor spaces and balconies face the courtyard where the basic occupations of the family take place. The building materials are stone walls of porous stone on the ground floor and mezzanine, reinforced with wooden belts and timber frame constructions on the upper floors. There are a limited number of windows on the ground floor. As a result, the energy behaviour of the building is different on the lower and the upper floors. How we can improve the energy behaviour of such buildings with so many open spaces is quite a challenge.
In the second category of buildings the layout of the openings changes. They are reduced on the upper floors and increased on the ground floor, thus creating a balance and symmetry of vertical and horizontal lines. The use of wood is reduced, that of brick increased and in some cases iron is adopted as a building material. The horizontal plan has a closed contour, with quite a few balconies and is closer to modern standards of housing.
These buildings are clearly kept in better condition and in many cases do not have serious stability problems. It is clear that in these buildings the restoration approach is different, as well as their energy behaviour and needs.”Inspired by the speeches of Greek colleagues, the visit and the unique atmosphere of the city, the LINKS partners discussed considerably amongst themselves and with local stakeholders about the measures which would prove the most efficient as regards to the quality of life in the city and accelerate the regeneration process in a sustainable way. The measures that were the most frequently mentioned can be summarized as follows:
(1) Survey and technical assessment of the present situation of historical buildings on a detailed map and database of the historical city centre.
(2) Restrict new constructions both in the city centre and on the outskirts of the town and at the same time encourage restoration and reuse of existing buildings by providing incentives and reducing administrative burdens.
(3) Improve the quality of public spaces, control traffic, at least in the city centre, increase the attractiveness for pedestrians and cyclists in order to re-connect the different parts of the town that are today split up.
(4) Find new ways to disclose and exploit the enormous cultural hidden assets of the historical city centre with a creative management of heritage.
(5) Reactivate traditional craftsmanship which is necessary to rehabilitate old buildings and boost local economy.
(6) Decrease administrative burden (and time) needed for the approval of each rehabilitation project, without lowering quality standards.
(7) Use eco-restoration as an opportunity to increase the economic value of historical buildings and attract investment with eco-incentives.
All the round-table talks clearly disclose the fact that none of these issues can be dealt with separately. To combine the various measures in an integrated and holistic approach is the only way to deal with the complexity of the problems, global and local, challenging the city of Veria.
Below some streetviews taken when arriving to Veria, during the workshop and study visits.
This slideshow requires JavaScript.
