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Theme : cities
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(Public) Space Invaders
Hmm. Walked over to the Royal Festival Hall today to buy my lunch, only to find the whole building closed, surrounded by barricades and a pretty impressive police presence.It turns out that BP have taken over for the day, to hold their AGM. I couldn't help feeling that this was a little inappropriate: the RFH is very much a public space, with shops, caf?s, a bar, exhibitions, live music and - generally - an area where children are encouraged to play, as well as a wide outdoor area facing out...
from : alistairdavidson
15th April 2004
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Landscape Security
Recent visits to Washington or a visit to the US embassy here in London offer an eery, but so far ad hoc view into the science of securing public streets and sensitive buildings. Oversized bollards, car-sized concrete tree planters, reinforced trash receptacles, and blast-proof benches are only a few of the options supplied by the "kit of parts", a menu of the government's post-9/11 street furniture. But rather than bunkering our cities, landscape architect Laurie Olin would like to propose a...
from : petermacleod
2nd April 2004
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Pop Disney
From Main Street USA in the Magic Kingdom to Epcot to Celebration, the Disney Corporation has, since the 1950's, been something of the dark prince of american urbanism and architecture. While Washington was building the interstate, Annaheim was toying with monorails. While developers earned concessions to let sprawl sprawl, Michael Eisner was pioneering a meticulous small town 'new urban' pantomine. So love it or loathe it, Disney has become a kind of advance radar for architectural...
from : petermacleod
1st April 2004
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Public Search
In an age of privatisation, it would seem this is becoming evermore true. Private provision of public services and facilities, be it bus routes or BUPA, has challenged the ecology of space and services most citizens experience. Its impossible to calculate the extent to which this is detrimental to a kind of collective public ethos. But, as Hajer suggests, this shift in ownership or designation musn't necessary imply a growing disregard or disability for the very things traditional public space...
from : petermacleod
11th March 2004
