Prinzessinnengarten

Urban agriculture can mean a lot for a city population. Not only can it provide local food, but it can also create a social landscape in a city.

And Prinzessinnengarten in Berlin does exactly that. Since 2009, a collective called "Nomadic Green" rents a 6000 sqm plot at the Moritzplatz in Kreuzberg. The site has been a wasteland for about 50 years, but with relatively small means it has been transformed in an idyllic urban garden. Not only do locals maintain the garden themselves - thus creating a stronger sense of community in a relatively socially weak area of the city - but it also produces local (healthy and organic) food. Even more so: at Prinzessinnengarten, they strive towards a larger biodiversity. They try to cultivate rare species of plants.



Since the site is only rented, it cannot be a permanent garden. So most of the vegetables are planted in old crates from bakeries, or in large bags. In case the rent is ended (for whatever reason), most of the Prinzessinnengarten could be easily transported to another site. Other than that, by doing so, one doesn't depend on the local soil, since it might not be in the best condition after being wasteland for such a long period of time.



But besides the plants, the food and the greens, the community aspect of the project is quite important. It gives the locals a place to work on food production together, it is a place to educate kids about food, a place to eat together, a place to hang out in a green spot amidst all the concrete and a place that ties extremely different people together. And the idea seems so simple (albeit difficult to actually do, I assume).

Prinzessinnengarten is launched as a pilot project by Nomadic Green, so let's hope that there are many more projects to follow. By them, but also by people that are inspired by their acts.

Temporary materiality

The materialization of temporary structures mainly has a certain genericness. For instance, for the construction of a temporary restaurant (called Studio East Dining) on the top of a construction site overlooking the construction of the 2012 Olympic Park in London the office Carmody Groarke used materials that could be considered pretty standard for a temporary structure. They used scaffolding and boards, borrowed from the construction site, and covered the lot with recyclable plastic.

Using pretty mundane materials doesn't make this a standard or boring building. And that's not just because of the spectacular views over the construction of the Olympic Park. No, it's also because the temporary building itself is rather elegant. A pavillion with no front or back, with a slick and playful form, gives space to a delicate interior. Too bad the restaurant only remains in place until the 4th of July...


I found this project via dezeen.com

Beer goggles?

It's nothing new to build pavilions out of beer crates. For instance, Atelier Kempe Thill designed and built a mobile pavillion out of translucent beer crates, called the Light Building.
However, the (unknown/unnamed) designers/builders of the Pavilion Du Bonheur Provisiore in Brussels (Belgium) must have thought that here's always something more extravagant that can be done. And they designed this cathedral out of Jupiler crates. This pavilion is an extension of the exhibition about the 1958 expo, and is situated near the Atomium, and it took 19 builders a total of 3900 hours to build this.

In case you are wondering about the name of the building: "the pavilion of temporary happiness" (the official name of the pavillion) might be a joyful play on the function of the former contents of the crate - or a contemplation on the short joyous life of the pavilion, which is probably just temporary.

They say classics never go out of style...

But apparently, forgotten classics can be reinvented. Like the "commode", a piece of furnite of which I was pretty sure it was about to become extinct. At least, as a contemporary piece I thought it was doomed, pretty much.
But luckily young austrian designer Marek Gut stepped up to the plate. He took a traditional piece of furniture (the commode), traditional woodworking skills and combined that with a contemporary style of form, material and colour. The result is pretty sexy. If one could actually claim that a piece of furniture is sexy, that is. Let's, for now, just say that it looks pretty damn smooth...

Wearing a new building like a hat

Even though one wouldn't guess so at first glance, the Faculty of Mathematics by Bevk Perović in Ljubljana (Slovenia) is actually an extension of an old edifice. On top of an existing, two story building, the new structure was placed - with a completely different programme. At a second glance, one could still see the old building shining through on the ground floor, retaining it's own identity whilst being absorbed into the new building.

Since the new building does not have a ground floor per se, the architects went for a different approach to create public spaces in the building: these large, transparent rooms are carved out of the building mass. By doing so, the second floor becomes what normally the ground floor would be: the public realm of the building. It consists of the lecture halls and the two larger communal areas of the faculty, with all the other programme of the school on the higher floors.


I found this through archdaily.com

Boeing hotel room

What would you do if you'd happen to have a spare, 1965 vintage Boeing 727 lying around? Well, the sensible idea would be to make a hotel room out of it, is what the people at the Hotel Costa Verde in Costa Rica must've thought.
Carefully, they transported the frame of the aircraft into the jungle, and refurbished into a spectacular hotel room. It's so tacky, it's so extra-ordinarily over the top, that I cannot help but loving the plane-became-hotelsuite....

Garbage pin

The garbage pin is a piece of appropriation of everyday object: a garbage bin.
The garbage pin is a piece of jewelry: it's a tiny, silvery metallic ring with a tiny plastic bag.
The garbage pin is an symbol for a larger issue: it's a statement about how people deal with waste.

The garbage pin is designed by Ana Cardim, and is sold as a kit with spare plastic bags and wires to close the bags.


I found this through likecool.com.

How to expand a historical city?

Many cities throughout the world are looking for a viable strategy for growth. In many cases, the answer to "growth" is seen in "expansion": increasingly adding suburban areas to an already sprawling city. The looming problems are ominous: an increase in congestion of traffic, an increase of pollution, a longer distance (both absolute and relative) to a city's vital cultural and recreational functions, risks of segregation and gentrification... the list of potential woes of increased suburbanisation of cities goes on and on.

The solution is obvious: if one is able to increase the density of existing historical city centres, without losing life-quality in those inner-city cores, growth is contained within it's own structure. Thus allowing for a compact city, with smaller distances to travel, proximity to all the lures of the centre, and a more lively centre at that.
Strangely enough, in many cities the exact opposite effect can be seen. For instance, take a look at Rome: in 1951, about 357.000 inhabitants were living in the historical centre of this city. Nowadays, their numbers have dropped to about 100.000.
So whereas it might seem logical to densify (and intensify) the historical city in order to allow the city to grow, there is a big drop in number of inhabitants.

This was the point for the Italian architecture firm IaN+ to start their research project. A case study of the historical centre of Rome serves as an example of a wider phenomenon, which they called the "Re-living the Historic Center".

Their analysis of the reasons for the decrease of inhabitants in the centre is threefold:
1. The financial profit:
downtowns are exclusively transformed according to economic “needs”, seeking mainly the increase of property value; the residential emptying produces the disappearing of the neighborhood structures and dynamics that have always characterized the city's life and complexity.
2. Tourism:
the invasion by the “tourism machine” causes the replacement of residential use with accommodation facilities and the resulting eviction of residents. In various areas of the historic center the daily number of tourists is at least twice the number of inhabitants in the same areas. The tourist-oriented structures are becoming the prevalent program; the downtown commercial fabric, constituted by small businesses, is disappearing, to be replaced by large shopping malls in the outskirts of the city.
3. University:
in Rome there are three large public universities, and the same amount of private universities plus a series of specialized institutes. Since there is not a proper typological response to the student population, students are forced to look into the normal residential market, so that they often replace most of the residents who used to live around university campuses.

These three effects create urban tissues with holes in it. Not physical holes, but holes of practical use. The streets and the facades are important for mass tourism, some building blocks have strong economic value. But for many buildings, only the facade (the way they present themselves to the public) matters: the inside of the building has become out-of-use.

The solution they propose is as simple as it is radical: demolish the under-used buildings in the historical centre. But leave the facade, since this is an important part of the decor for the huge tourist-industry of the city. Behind this empty facade, the social structure of the neighborhoods can be strengthened, by inserting housing facilities in this recycled city structure.
Behind the facades, structures of housing and open space can co-exist, in order to create a second type of structure of the city: next to the tourist economy of the city, a system of inhabitants and ecology.


It might be a bit naive, it might be a bit too simplistic, and their architectual solution might not be the most convincing one: The idea of this project certainly has some fascinating points to it.
A fact is that an increasing number of historical city centres are falling prey to mass tourism. A fact is that there are less and less inhabitants in these historical centres. And a fact is that one needs to devote though to the reclaiming of the city centres to actual city life, and consider alternatives for the continuing de-densification of those centres.

Drinking your way to nirvana?

Empty bottles are known to bring you in all kinds of states, but I've never considered reaching Nirvana to be possible by means of empty bottles. But in the Buddhist "Wat Pa Maha Chedio Kaew" temple
(nicknamed "Wat Lan Kuad" - meaning "Temple of Million Bottles") in the Sisaket province in Thailand, there seems to be a strong relation between emptying bottles, recycling and faith: the entire temple is built out of an estimated 1.5 million recycled bottles. And the bottles are literally everywhere: in the shelters, in the crematorium and in the toilets. And they are probably praying for more recycled bottles, since that allows them to built more edifices in the temple-complex.



It all started in 1984, when the Monks used bottles to decorate their shelters. It attracted more donations, allowing them to graduately built the temple as it stands today. And everything is recycled: even the caps are used in mosaics. It started out of necessity but developed into a nifty way of building with a spectacularly looking material - and maybe a future way to raise money for the temple by becoming a tourist destination?



I've found this remarkable building on inhabitat.com

S(ch)austall - FNP Architekten

Usually, I am not that much into snappy, witty names for built projects. I don't know ,it just feels a bit too much like an ironic semi-academic thing from the nineties. But I'd have to make an exception for this project by the Stuttgart firm called FNP Architekten. They named the reconversion of this old shed somewhere in Rheinland-Pfalz (in the south-west of Germany) S(ch)austall, a combination of Saustall (pigshed) and Schaustall (showroom), both the old and the new use.

But as nicely chosen the name might be, it is rather meagre in comparison to the loveliness of the building itself. Whereas a building such as this old pigstall would normally be torn down to make place for a new building, the architects came up with another approach to the crumbling, old structure from the 18th century. The architects used the strategy of a "house within a house". They devised an infill for the existing structure, that enhanced the existing structure. For instance, the existing holes in the old structure (that used to be windows) now look rather modern. I just love this approach to renovation, actually playing on the specifics of the site. And I'm not the only one digging this, considering the fact that building won several awards.

La tour vivante - Atelier SOA

There have been many examples of complex, large scale structures envisaged as "autonomous ecological machines". This tower (la tour vivante means "the living tower" in French) in Rennes is no exception to this concept. The architects of atelier SOA, however, took this approach a bit further in the case of the design of the complex consisting of apartments, offices, shopping area and a library. They added about 7000 square metres of greenhouses in the building. Firstly, these greenhouses form the link between the different functions, like a surprisingly lush corridor. At the same time, the greenhouses provide with a large amount of fruit and vegetables - produced within the framework of an program of rainwater and waste recycling. But one shouldn't forget that the greenhouses, in combination with thick and heavy concrete elements, are important for the climate control of the 30-story building. The concrete can absorb solar warmth, regulate thermal stability, and the warmth is spread throughout the building by the chimney-effect of the greenhouses.
In the southern facade, solar panels are integrated, which, together with the two wind turbines on top of the building, provide for large portions of the energy requirements of the building. And did I forget to tell about the smart water-seperations and recycling systems?

So basically, almost everything one could possibly think of as far as "green" design solutions is taken care of in this building. But the architects didn't forget something else, which is just as important: the building looks attractive enough to be an inspirational landmark for many, as if it were to show that ecologically sound design can be sexy, too!

The kitch copy machine

So far I thought that the Japanese held the illustre title as biggest copy cats in the world. I mean, after all, they are the ones that rebuilt some highlights of the 17th century dutch built culture as a theme park called "Huis ten Bosch".

But they have been beaten at their game by some people in Dubai, BLDGBLOG informs us. The French city of Lyon actually signed a licensing deal for 685 millions, so that a replica of a part of the city of Lyons will be built somewhere in the desert. The resulting hyper-city, that will actually have the identity of both Dubai and Lyons, and at the same time of neither of them, will be called Lyons-Dubai City, and "will cover an area of about 700 acres, roughly the size of the Latin Quarter of Paris, and will contain the university, a hotel school, a film library, subsidiaries of Lyon museums and a football training center run by Olympique Lyonnais."

And even though I'm the first to admit that Lyon is a charming city, this raises the question: why did they pick Lyon for this deal? Will everything be built the same, even the interiors, the bathrooms and all that, even if the people from Dubai probably want different standards as the French? And more importanty: can a city actually sell itself as a franchise?

This hyper-reality that mixes both realities, to make a overlaying new patchwork-identity of different semantical meanings is so insane, that I love it.

Caixa Forum - Herzog & De Meuron

It's more than likely that the Caixa Forum building in Madrid will get extensive coverage just about average. It's probably even better to say that the project already has had more than it's fair share of publication - even before it was actually finished. Really, there has been an almost constant stream of images and such. Mostly about the exterior of the complex. And honestly, it looks great. Whether it's the vertical garden (courtesy of the almighty Patric Blanc), or the perforated weathering copper (or is it steel after all, I'm not sure?). Or the way these new materializations relate to the old, existing structure. The interior, thus far, has been a bit less exposed - which is logical considering the fact that the building wasn't open yet. But since the cultural complex (consisting gallery spaces, auditorium and the lot) has been opened recently, a steady stream of photos has been seeing the light of day. For instance, these images that I found on flickr. They show the fantastic entrance zone, one of the spectacular staircases and the subtle way the light penetrates the perforated skin. This is defenitely a building that gets a high position on the "must see" list...

Werkschwimmbad

Recently, I already wrote about the Zollverein in the German Ruhrgebiet. There is one part of the complex that I want to give a little bit extra attention to: the "werkschwimmbad" (loosely translated as work-swimmingpool). It was designed by Daniel Milohnic and Dirk Paschke (members of the artists collective Phantombüro, and can be read as a collage-like answer to all the questions the site raises - like the reformation of a industrial area into a recreational area.

Other than that: it just looks really surreal, making it quite a spectacular little pool.

Taller de Arquitectura - Ricardo Bofill

in 1973, Ricardo Bofill stumbled upon a cement factory that was not longer in use, and decided to make it into the office for his architectural studio Taller de Arquitectura. The complex was fitted with dwellings, offices, parks and more, scattered around the area. It is a rather surreal looking place, in which the factory serves as the starting point for transformations, metamorphosis and scenaric spaces. From the existing structures, the sculptural concrete forms were kept intact.
And the result? Wether it´s a vast space containing nothing, huge girders crossing, gardens in industrial area, this place seems to be the postmodern version of Piranesi´s drawings.

SESC Pompeia - Lina Bo Bardi

In the mid seventies, an old factory for oil drums in Sao Paulo was not in use anymore. The plan was to convert it to a recreational centre. Lina Bo Bardi decided to keep most of the complex the way it was, to preserve the characteristics of the site. About half of the requested program could be placed in the existing structure. Here, her approach was that of freely placing objects in the space, in order not to disturb spatial qualities too much. For instance, a structure of very thin concrete divides the main hall in a library, exposition space and a collective living room (with fireplace and river running through). A smally allyway between different parts of the factory is turned into a lobby by use of a transparent roofing ß giving the complex a feeling of being inside outside and vice versa.

For the other half of the programme, that couldn't be placed in the existing structures, Bo Bardi erected two towers. In the biggest of the two towers (a rather plump looking one), four sporting halls are placed on top of eachother, with a swimming pool underneath. The smaller tower consists of changing rooms, cafetaria and smaller gymnasiums. The two towers are connected with various skybridges, making the two heavy concrete structures a bit more airy looking.

It is said that the centre is one of the most successful public places in the city. Continually, there are people from the area on the site, whether they are there with a specific goal or not. All kinds of people, from all kinds of social classes are mixed in the centre.

Lindisfarne Boathouses

Near Lindisfarne castle (on the so-called Holy Island), there's a collection of upturned boats. The boats are now used as storage facilities. Basically: when the boats weren't used as boats any more, they were recylced as rather sweet looking iconic sheds.

Freitag Flagship Store (Zürich)

The brand Freitag is well known as a brand of bags, produced from recycled materials, like truck tarpulins, car seatbelts, airbags, bicycle tires et cetera.
So when the question of a flagship store arose, it was quite logical that they decided to do something with the same industrial, recycled feel. For their flagship shop in Zürich, a tower was made from used containers, stacked near the road, making an iconic architecture - a landmark building that really displays the intrinsic qualities of the brand in its architecture.

cradle to cradle

I am probably the last person in the world to comment on this book, that was already published in 2002. Well, that's not true of course, I just happen to have slept on the hype first time around, and after I've read it, I am more than eager to say something about it. This "something" could be rather quick and easy: "GO READ 'CRADLE TO CRADLE'". But since I know that I don't quite have the authority to convince tons of people to read the book, I need some more words...

The book "Cradle to Cradle: Remaking the Way We Make Things" was written by William McDonough en Michael Braungart, and they are basically arguing that the way we look at producing and recycling is pretty primitive. Most methods of environmentally friendly design are about recycling, and thus about making less waste. Virtually all products have, after re-use, a lesser value. For instance paper: recycled paper can be used as newspaper. The reason that newspaper is slightly grey is because the original chlorin-bleached white paper was printed with black ink (with heavy metals in them). By using the paper for newspapers, chlorine and metals are brought into the air. And after using the paper once, it has become too dirty and poisonous to be used again. (and it would have, in fact, been more environmentally sound to dumb the paper and cut down another tree).

McDonough and Braungart call this "downcycling", and what they strive for is a method of design in which the rest-product, or the waste, is just as valuable as the starting product, in order to create closed cycles of production. Products that have been valuable in a first life, are just as useful in their second life. That is the basic idea of cradle to cradle.
It goes too far to explain all the details of their argument here, but if you wonder how it works: William McDonough has posted a step-by-step guide to cradle to cradle on his website.

Are there cases to be named in which this philosophy is used? Not that many (yet), but there are some. For instance, the book itself has been printed on bio-degradable plastic instead of paper. This plastic can be easily cleaned of ink, and be re-used as bright white "paper".
And on larger scale, Ford designed a car called Ford U, of which all parts are biodegradable and re-usable. From the exhaust, it leaks clean water. The tires attract particles of dirt from the street, and when eroding feed the plants on the roadside.

Surely, this all is a bit too futuristic and idealistic right now, but it's a starting point to arm ourselves for the future...

Skating Phaeno

I love skateboarding. I used to do it quite a lot (until some doctors advised me not to do so anymore), but that's beside the point. I also appreciate it from an architectural/urbanistic view: skateboarders use built environment in an alternative way, and see the city with different eyes.
That having said, I have always thought that Zaha Hadid's Phaeno building in Wolfsburg would've been perfect to skate on. Actually, I think that many Hadistic buildings would be great to skate on. So it didn't quite surprised me when somebody decided to use the spot for a skate session.

The people from Red Bull - Acces All Areas went to the place to skate. Unfortunately, the only video that is available at the moment (on the site) isn't that interesting, but the images makes one expect a lot of great footage...