Atlantis #17.2 Rebuild

ATLANTI

jaargang 17 nr. 2, april 2006

REBUILD

REBUILD

Van de redactie Laura de Bonth en Raquel van Donselaar

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From the editors

Bij het openslaan van de krant deze week, werden we weer met onze neus op de feiten gedrukt; Australië is in de ban van verwoestende orkanen die over de noordkust razen en Praag is zich weer aan het voorbereiden op grote overstromingen. De natuur is van grote invloed op onze levens. Als bouwkunde student worden wij elke ochtend geconfronteerd met de kracht van de natuur, als we weer de wind bij het electro gebouw proberen te trotseren. Deze keer speelt de Atlantis in op de wederopbouw na natuurrampen. Kunnen we een manier vinden om steden te vormen naar de eisen die de natuur schept in plaats van ons alleen maar te “beveiligen”.

Whilst opening the paper this week, we were again confronted with the facts; Australia is concerned with devastating hurricanes that rage over the northern shore and Prague is preparing itself, yet again, for great floods. Nature is of great influence on our lives. As architecture students here in Delft we are confronted with the force of nature every time we try to pass the electro building in stormy weather.

This time the Atlantis is focused on rebuilding after natural disasters. Can we find a way to form cities to the demands that nature makes instead of only “protecting” ourselves?

Naast het aankaarten van hoe wij als stedenbouwers in het algemeen kunnen reageren op de eisen van de natuur hebben we geprobeerd om wat specifieker in te gaan op de werkelijke wederopbouw acties en interventies in verschillende rampgebieden. De Iraanse stad Bam werkt sinds de fatale klap, hard aan de wederopbouw. In New Orleans moet na de desastreuze vernielingen door orkaan Katrina alles weer worden opgebouwd. Een bezoek aan de NAi tentoonstelling ‘Newer Orleans - A Shared Space’, gaf ons inzicht in hoe zes befaamde ontwerpbureaus uit Nederland en Amerika een eerste visie op wijk, stad en regio van het nieuwe New Orleans ontwikkelden.

Dit drukte ons meteen met onze neus op de feiten. De wederopbouw van een stad na zo’n grote natuurramp is een kolossale opgave, welke je in onze ogen niet zomaar kunt oplossen met een ontwerp. Het kent een lange weg van onderzoek, herziening en ontwerpen.

Echter direct na de ramp is hier geen tijd voor en er moeten zo snel mogelijk nieuwe leefomstandigheden in de getroffen gebieden geleverd worden. Jan Peter Stellema van artsen zonder grenzen geeft ons een kijk in zijn dagboek, direct na de ramp in Pakistan. Dit snijdt meteen een belangrijk punt aan, hoe kunnen wij als stedenbouwer bijdragen aan het direct creeren van een nieuwe “leefomgeving”? Vanuit het standpunt van de architect word verder ingegaan op “rampveilige” bouw in “Future Cities”.

Alongside trying to put on the table the way we urbanist in general can react on the demands of nature, we also tried to go deeper into the subject of the actual rebuilding actions and interventions in different disaster areas. The Iranian city Bam works hard on its rebuilding after the fatal blow opf the earthquake. In New Orleans, after the disastrous devastation by hurricane Katrina, everything has to be built up again. A visit to the NAi exhibition ‘Newer Orleans – A Shared Space’, gave us some insight in how six design offices from the Netherlands and America developed a first notion on the neighborhood, city and region of the new New Orleans. This made it quit clear that rebuilding of a city, after such a large scale natural disaster, is a colossal assignment, which you, in our point of view, can’t just solve with a design. It knows a large path of research, revision and design.

However, directly after a disaster strikes there is no time for this and the stricken areas have to be made livable again as soon as possible. This makes us ask, how can we as urbanists contribute to immediately creating a new “living area”. In the article, “Future Cities”, ‘disaster safe” building will be further elaborated, from the point of view of the architect.

Maar er staan nog meer artikelen, ook vanuit veel andere disciplines dan stedenbouw, in deze Atlantis.

Reacties zijn natuurlijk wederom altijd welkom. Zo ook de kritische reactie van Han Meyer (Stedebouw

But there are even more articles, also from a lot of other discipline than urbanism, in this Atlantis. Reactions are again always welcome. Just as the critical reaction of Han Meyer (Stedebouw als handelswaar)

als hadelswaar) op de vorige Atlantis.

on the previous Atlantis.

Atlantis - april 2006

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INHOUD

ATLANTIS, tijdschrift voor stedenbouw, is een uitgave van POLIS, podium voor stedebouwkunde en verschijnt 4 maal per jaar.

17e jaargang, nummer 2, april 2006 oplage: 500 exemplaren Hoofdredacteur Raquel van Donselaar Redactie Anastasia Moiseeva Annemarie Hatzman Gijs Veugen Laura de Bonth Mikel Knippenberg Monique Suksmaningsih Redactieadres Polis, Podium voor Stedebouwkunde Faculteit Bouwkunde Berlageweg 1, kab. 9.51 2628 CR Delft t.: 015-2784093 f.: 015-2783694 e.: polis@bk.tudelft.nl i.: www.bk.tudelft.nl/verenigingen/polis

Inhoud Contents 9

Horizontal view of “reconstruction in Bam” Shohre Shahnoori

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Dagboek van een ooggetuige

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Future cities

Jan Peter Stellema

Ming Ming Ong

Druk Thieme GrafiMedia Groep, Delft Advertenties Informatie via het redactieadres.

Artikelen Artikelen, mededelingen en reacties kunnen worden aangeboden aan het redactieadres. Auteursrichtlijnen zijn bij de redactie beschikbaar. Artikelen overnemen toegestaan met toestemming van auteurs en bronvermelding.

Abonnementen Polis-leden ontvangen de Atlantis gratis.

Polis-jaarlidmaatschap: Studenten € 10,Alumni/AIO € 15,Praktijkleden € 30,Bureauleden € 60,-

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Laura de Bonth en Raquel van Donselaar

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Kaft: Laura de Bonth

Van het bestuur

34 Waterplein Lanschappelijke transformaties als drager voor een stedelijke ontwikkeling Afstudeerproject Vivian Hofstede

Arjen Spijkerman

39 Via Vinex 6

The impact of natural hazards on urban planning Riet Moens

Fototentoonstelling

44 Construction is destruction Column Abhijit Mandrekar

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Rebuilding to be destroyed Reactions on the polisstatement

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Losse nummers € 3,© 2006 Polis, Podium voor Stedebouwkunde ISSN 1387-3679

Van de redactie

Newer Orleans, a shared space Laura de Bonth & Raquel van Donselaar

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46 Opkomst creatieve economie, einde Zuidvleugel?

Mikel Knippenberg

52 Karlin

Stedebouw als handelswaar,

Urban regenaration and floods in the central part of Prague

het einde van de stedebouwkunde?

Jaromir Hainc

Han Meyer

56 Agenda 30

Photoreport Los Angeles Peter Rieff & Mecky Reuss

57 Partners van Polis 59 De Polisstelling

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Polis, Podium voor Stedebouwkunde Historie De vereniging Polis is in oktober 1989 opgericht door docenten en studenten Stedenbouwkunde aan de Faculteit der Bouwkunde van de Technische Universiteit Delft. Het initiatief kwam voort uit de wens om de kwaliteit van het stedebouw onderwijs te handhaven en te versterken, onder druk van onderwijsherzieningen. Daarnaast werd en wordt het initiëren van een intenser contact tussen onderwijs, wetenschap en praktijk als een belangrijke doelstelling van Polis gezien.

Stedenbouwkunde Stedenbouwkunde is dynamisch, volgend en sturend.

De inhoud van het stedebouwkundige vak is steeds aan veranderingen onderhevig en onderwerp van discussie. Dit wordt aangestuurd door veranderingen in de maatschappij. Als stedenbouwkundige in zowel de praktijk als in de wetenschap is het belangrijk om van deze veranderingen kennis te nemen en met deze kennis als stedenbouwkundige een positie in de maatschappij in te nemen. De stedenbouwkundige kan dan vanuit zijn positie een visie op (ontwerp) opgaven in de maatschappij geven.

Podium Polis, Podium voor Stedenbouwkunde, wil voor stedebouwkundigen in zowel de praktijk als in de wetenschap een podium aanbieden waarop deze positiebepaling mogelijk is. Het doel van Polis is het verleiden van stedenbouwkundigen om het podium te beklimmen. Het verleiden gebeurt door het ontplooien van verschillende activiteiten. Zo worden er onder andere excursies, lezingen, debatten, symposia en prijsvragen georganiseerd. De periodiek Atlantis speelt hierbij een belangrijke rol. De Atlantis vormt een platform voor discussie.

Daarnaast geeft de Atlantis een goed overzicht van de Polis activiteiten.

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Overleg Polis vormt een schakel tussen wetenschap en praktijk. Polis onderhoudt contacten met verschil-lende partijen in de stedenbouw. Polis voert binnen de Faculteit op verschillende niveaus overleg over de kwaliteit van het onderwijs. De relevantie voor de wetenschap en praktijk is hierbij een belangrijk criterium. Om het bereik van Polis te vergroten wordt er binnen en buiten de Faculteit overleg gevoerd met verwante organisaties.

PolisFonds Het PolisFonds is in het leven geroepen door Polis, podium voor stedebouwkunde om individuele en kleinschalige initiatieven, die voortkomen uit de dagelijkse stedenbouwpraktijk of wetenschap te kunnen financieren. Neem voor een aanvraag contact op met Polis. In het PolisFonds hebben de volgende leden zitting: Roy Bijhouwer, Stedenbouwkundige Quadrat, atelier voor stedebouw, architectuur en landschap, Anthony Fuchs, vice-voorzitter Polis en student bouwkunde, Miranda Reitsma, redactie tijdschrift Stedenbouw en Ruimtelijke Ordening, Maarten Schmitt, stadsstedebouwer Den Haag, Thom Wolf, adjunct directeur Dura Bouw Amsterdam.

Donaties blijven van harte welkom op gironummer: 8522358 o.v.v. Polis Fonds.

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VAN HET BESTUUR

Van het bestuur Arjen Spijkerman

From the board

Hierbij een update van wat er de laatste tijd aan POLIS activiteiten allemaal gebeurd is en vooral wat er nog gaat komen. Want vooral voor de activiteitencommissies zijn drukke tijden aangebroken.

This will be an update on recent and upcoming POLIS activities, as our activity committee has been very busy lately.

Eind februari heeft de interdisciplinaire OORworkshop plaats gevonden. Ondanks het matige aantal deelnemers is de workshop zeker een succes geworden. De opgave was hoe de stad Delft, door middel van verbindingen van openbare ruimtes meer gebruik kan maken van zijn omliggende landelijke gebied. In de volgende atlantis zal hier een verslag van verschijnen.

At the end of February we had the interdisciplinary OOR workshops, which was a definite success despite the relatively small amount of participants . The topic was how Delft, by connecting its public spaces, can better use its surrounding rural areas. There will be a report on this topic in the upcoming edition of Atlantis.

Net als voorgaande jaren heeft POLIS ook dit jaar weer een aantal bureau excursies op de agenda staan. Dit soort excursies spreekt meestal veel studenten aan omdat zij een mogelijkheid bieden eens te kijken wat er allemaal na je studie allemaal mogelijk is en omdat het een mooi moment is om de contacten tussen POLIS en de pratijk aan te halen.

De eerste excursie ging naar Rotterdam en bestond uit de bureaus WSA en West 8. Op het moment van het verschijnen van de Atlantis hebben we tevens een bezoek gebracht aan de bureaus dS+V en KCAP.

As in past years, POLIS has organized a number of office excursions. These sort of excursions are always a success because many students enjoy the opportunity to see what some of their options are once they have completed their studies, and these excursions are also a chance to take advantage of the connections POLIS has within the Urbanism practice. The first excursion went to the offices of WSA and West 8 in Rotterdam.

By the time this edition of Atlantis is published we will also have visited dS+V and KCAP.

Op het gebied van de buitenlandse trips staat, in de paasvakantie, onze Praag excursie voor de deur. Dit in het kader van ‘Growing Europe Shrinking World’.

Inmiddels is hier al veel werk in gestoken en dit heeft geresulteerd in een bijzonder vol en interessant programma. Tijdens ons bezoek zijn we van plan de verschillende uitbreidingswijken en een aantal interessante transformatiegebieden te bezoeken. Om ook een beeld te krijgen van het Tsjechië buiten Praag gaan we een bezoek te brengen aan het stadje Kutna Hora. De excursie wordt afgesloten met een workshop met studenten van de technische universiteit van Praag. In de volgende atlantis zal hier verslag van worden gedaan.

On the topic of foreign excursions our Prague excursion, which will take place during the Easter holiday, is almost upon us. Much time and energy has been put into this trip, resulting in a very full and interesting program.

On this trip we will be visiting a number of different extension districts and interesting transformation areas.

To get a feel for the Czech Republic outside Prague we will also be visiting the city of Kutna Hora. The trip will end in a workshop with students from the Czech university. You can read about the trip in the upcoming edition of Atlantis.

Naast al deze activiteiten zijn we ons nu ook aan het voorbereiden op de stedenbouwweek, die zal plaatsvinden in september. Een belangrijk doel van deze stedenbouwweek is om het vak stedenbouw onder de aandacht te brengen van bachelorstudenten. Over het thema en de agenda gaat vanaf nu druk gebrainstormd worden, dus ideeën zijn natuurlijk altijd welkom. Ook praktijkleden die leuke ideeeë hebben of zin hebben om mee te helpen met het organiseren van deze week zijn van harte welkom!

On top of these activities POLIS is also preparing for the annual Urbanism Week, which will take place in September. The main goal of this week is to inform bachelor students about the field of urban design. Furthermore, this week provides a chance for students to give their input in the discussion between students and city planners. We’re still brainstorming on the theme and agenda, so any ideas or opinions are welcome.

Urbanism professionals who have ideas or want to help organize an Urbanism week activity are of course always welcome!

En dan het laatste puntje: half April zal de nieuwe website gelaunched worden, dus check die site!

And one last thing: mid April our new website will be launched, so don’t forget to check the site!

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The Impact of Natural Hazards in Urban Planning Riet Moens-Gigengack The risks presented by natural hazards impose costs on someone, somehow, somewhere and at some time. The economic impact of the risk depends on the social and economic development of a region.

The personal risk of loss of life and properties will be insured in countries with a thriving economy. But in many not so well-to-do countries risk of loss of lives and properties is a political issue. Moreover the impact of a natural hazard in a hit region goes further than personal suffering. Whole communities are struck by the same hazard and are disoriented by the broken social structures and the loss of normal urban community equipment. The loss of private property but also of community property such as buildings, roads, ducts and cables has economic and logistic consequences. This impact requires research for necessary reconstruction and when reconstruction is not possible for future development nearby or elsewhere in the area when it is too unsafe for any urban reconstruction.

An evaluation of the early warning system on the impact and operational side in the area should also be made. When this system does not exist it should be implemented on a for the area suitable manner.

In hazard prone areas natural aspects and processes should determine the possible and desirable interventions of planners. Planners should be aware of natural processes that can take place in the planning area. In the case of risky natural and environmental situations they should be able to rate the circumstances at their true value. They should be able to take the right measures to avoid the consequences when it is possible or at least to diminish them. As a consequence the planner should also develop an awareness of the impact of new

The citadel of Bam before and after the earthquake

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manmade situations for the environment, because the new situation can also arise natural hazards.

The way to solve the problems by planning under risky natural circumstances does not only belong to the responsibility of the planner and designer but also of the government and the local authorities.

Numerous procedures for site development are available to avoid or to reduce the risks associated with the exposure to natural hazards.

The mandatory application of techniques can be forced by adaptation and enforcement of a variety of policies and laws on different governmental levels.

For this reason natural hazard assessments can be made when there developments will take place in a hazard prone area. This assessment should contain in general an inventory and analysis of the probability of the occurrence of a potentially damaging natural phenomenon within a given region. This research involves also the establishment of a relationship between frequency and magnitude of the hazardous events. How to solve the possible consequences of a natural hazard through building codes, zoning or any kind of interventions depends on the political and economic situation in the region.

In settlement planning the application and the implementation of earth sciences such as geology, geomorphology, hydrology and even pedology can be invaluable. The implication should be effectively coordinated within socio-economic and political decision making. Only the decision makers recognize the importance of the use of this information it can help to improve the quality of life of urban and rural dwellers in hazard prone areas. Do not forget that

THE IMPACT OF NATURAL HAZARDS IN URBAN PLANNING

a natural cannot be prevented by these decisions but the impact can hopefully be diminished and shifted to places where it will harm people less in their quality of living. The use of information from earth sciences will probably not happen until the earth scientists learn how to present their technical data in a proper way so that non-specialist like urban planners understand then and can implement the knowledge in their planning and design work. In the case of rural development the planning will be more how to cope with the natural circumstances by creating safe places for living and refuge. On the other hand also not to disturb the natural stability in order not to provoke hazards.

Since the last devastating earthquakes in Adapazari and Izmit in West Turkey, Bam in Iran and at the border between India and Pakistan in Kashmir and not to forget the floodings caused by the tsunami along the coasts of Sumatra, Thailand, India and Sri Lanka and the flooding of New Orleans due to a tornado time is arrived for environmental end earth scientists to get a more important role in the development of settlements in urban and rural areas. The enormous loss of lives and properties and also the break down of the socio-economic structure of these areas ask for their expertise in modifying, relieving and even preventing the impact. Maps that show clearly the constraints and the possibilities for settlement and rural development accompanied by a written and mapped risk analysis can meet the wishes of planners and designers.

Bam As an example the earthquake in Bam in southern Iran is described. Shohre Shahnoori of the department of building technique will describe in the next article the impact and the solutions for building in Bam. The ancient city of Arg-e-Bam is entirely made of mud, straw and the trunks of palm trees. The suburbs are built in a more modern way of concrete obeying building codes. The whole centre is totally devastated during the earthquake while the looked outskirts of the city were still in tact and not disturbed by the quake.

earthquake with a major strength of over 2,500 year in the region. Thus nobody was aware that an earthquake could take place. The epicenter of the earthquake was right under Bam. Most of the people were still in bed and they were taken by surprise in their sleep. They died in bed under the falling ceilings, roofs and walls of their houses. They had no chance to escape. Tens of thousands people were at once buried under tons of rubble. The roofs and walls were especially made very thick for cooling during the summer heat and keeping the cold outside during wintertime. The water system collapsed too and so did the sewer. The supply of water and electricity was also disrupted.

And so was also the distribution of food. The whole community of Bam had to cope with a new rather primitive situation.

Soon aid from all over the country and the world was organized but it was difficult to reach the city with such large numbers of aid workers and goods.

The local airfield was also hit and even not well enough equipped for handling the incoming and outgoing flights.

The climate of the region caused an extra difficulty.

It is an extreme land nearly desert climate with very dry hot summers with temperatures far above 40˚ Celsius and cold icy winters with temperatures of below -20 ˚ Celsius. The first requirement was to provide shelter for the people who lost their homes. Where to place the temporal dwellings and to organize the area? How long the temporal development would be used?

The conclusion about the reason of the large devastation was the prevalence of poorly old fashioned designed houses built with primitive materials. In the more modern outskirts devastation found place where the building code was not Influence of earthquake around Bam

The devastating shaking started early in the morning on Friday the 26th of December 2003.The trembling was early in the morning at 5.26 hours local time with a strength or magnitude of 6.6 on the scale of Richter. The day before light tremors were felt in the area but this was not annoying and unusual for the region. After all there was no recorded

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obeyed and of course also the pipelines and cables collapsed. In comparison an earthquake of the same magnitude that struck a quake prone area in California a week before killed only 2 persons while in Bam more than 50,000 people were killed.

Summarizing earthquakes.

The effects of earthquakes can be subdivided in two main effects.

Primary effects: Violent movement of the ground in the form of waves accompanied by fracturing of the earth surface that may cause displacements of several or more decimeters. Liquefaction will take place in with water saturated soils. The soil will act as a thick unconsolidated glop. The bearing capacity of the soil is totally lost.

Secondary effects: Damages of buildings, water sewer and gas ducts, electricity cables, waterworks so the man made products, Triggering of landslides, avalanches, tsunamis in the case of an earthquake under the sea, floods and fires. These phenomena are perceptible nearly direct after the trembling.

On the long range subsidence or emergence of landmasses and regional changes in riverbeds and groundwater level become visible.

When an earthquake will take place and the magnitude of the quake is not on beforehand known.

The same applies to the depth of the epicenter in the crust and the frequency of the quakes. Even the lengths of the different waves triggered by the earthquake are not predictable. Intensive research is done at well known faults in earthquake prone area like California and Japan. The result of the measurements is that an increase in stress along

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the fault before an earthquake can be proved. But it is still not sure when the trembling will happen or when the stress becomes too high to start the movement. But on less known faults or faults where since human memory no shaking was felt this advanced method will not be used. Even in most of the areas people will not remember the frightening of an earthquake since it happens longer than one generation ago. There was no recorded major earthquake during the last 2,500 years in Bam. So nobody in Bam was aware that an earthquake could take place.

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Drs. M.J.Moens-Gigengack studied physical geography at the University of Amsterdam. She is specialized in applied earth and environmental sciences for urbanism and architecture.

Literature: • Bolt B.A. Earthquakes, A Primer, Freeman and Company, San

Francisco (1978) • Foster H.D. Disaster Planning, The Preservation of Life and Property, Springer Verlag New York, Heidelberg, Berlin (1980) • Pannekoek A.J. Algemene Geologie, Tjeenk Willink bv Groningen (1973) • Petak W.J. and Atkinson A.A., Natural Hazard Risk Aassessment and Public Policy, Anticipating the unexpected. Springer Verlag New York, Heidelberg, Berlin (1982) • Website earthquake Bam for pictures: http://www.fema.gov/bamearthquake/ http://www.farsinet.com/bam/

HORIZONTAL VIEW OF “RECONSTRUCTION IN BAM”

Horizontal view of “Reconstruction in Bam” Shohre Shahnoori 1. Introduction

in tree mass) that fact is a worldwide environmental

The main issue in this article is Bam, which was the first case study to be turned into a PhD study. Bam is a small seismic desert city. It is located in the neighborhood of Iran’s central desert which is known as Kavir e Lut. This desert is located on the edge of two different sub-plates. It is also a region with various natural faults so both those factors make the city of Bam particularly vulnerable. On the one hand the city has to deal with such natural phenomena but on the other hand it is threatened by the big danger of desertification which is normal in that area just as it is in many other parts of the world.

First we will start by considering the vulnerability of desert cities in general. Some examples of different similar situations to those seen in the city of Bam will then be examined in order to recognize the whole historical perspective and to help people to make decisions concerning the linking of new methods to old problems so that designs for the future can be created. The examples will include cities like Shahre Sookhte and Sialk hills.

problem.

The above data shows that the phenomenon is happening on a large scale and is causing a large level of carbon releasing which, in turn, is contributing to accelerating climate change.

But pollution is not the only consequence of deforestation. As is normal in an ecosystem, everything is interrelated. One other important factor affecting deforestation is soil erosion which is a key contributor to land degradation. Many parts of Iran are being affected by this phenomenon whilst, in the past, it was never a problem. In 1999 a gigantic flood washed out the Neka region in the north of Iran. Many areas in the country which were inhabited by people who practiced agriculture in a natural way in the past are now depleted. On the other hand, it is population growth that has caused deforestation in the first place due to human intervention in agricultural and forestry development. On a worldwide scale more than 2 billion tons of topsoil is lost annually and now, more than 12.5 billion acres is considered to be degraded (sustainable construction, Charles J. Kibert).

2. Desert cities as vulnerable habitats As can be understood from the examples given, this part of the desert is menaced by several natural phenomena and also by one important impacting factor which is desertification. The diminishing or destruction of the biological potential of land which can ultimately lead to desert conditions is termed desertification. It is a kind land degradation that only occurs in dry (arid, semi-arid and dry sub-humid areas) countries.

One important factor contributing to the acceleration of desertification and something that is occurring in all over the world is deforestation.

The rate at which rain forests are disappearing all over the world is at 2 acres (0.8 hectare) per second.

This amounts to 10 million acres per year for temperate zone forests (sustainable construction, Charles J. Kibert). In connection with carbon diffusion into the atmosphere (bearing in mind that it can be stored

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According to soil/vegetation data, world dry lands account for 6.45 billion hectares or 43 percent of the global land area. According to climatic data, world dry lands constitute 5.55 billion hectares or 37 percent of the global land area. Seventy percent of the 5.200 million hectares of dry lands used for agriculture around the world are already designated degraded areas at least moderately threatened by desertification and accounting for 3.97 billion hectares or 75.1 per cent of the total dry lands, excluding hyper-arid deserts (Down to Earth, UNCCD Secretariat).

Statistics from the same source show that more than 100 countries are affected by desertification and 15% of the world’s population inhabits dry lands while 78.5 million live in areas that have recently undergone severe desertification. For instance, in Mexico about 70 percent of all the land is vulnerable to this which is what prompts 700.000 to 900.000 Mexicans to leave their country every year. Just leaving one’s homeland without making any other effort whatsoever to protect the land is not a good environmental solution. The issue of ‘how to protect the areas and the cities in and around the deserts’ is important from several points of view. But we, as designers, can improve life and increase people’s safety by means of urban planning and designing as well as through our building technological efforts. Normally there are different factors that affect safety. More to the point, people will not tolerate unsafe situations for a long time; they will usually migrate and seek better living conditions. The more people migrate from a desert landscape, without compensating the land in any way, the more desertification will progress. In fact there is a certain action and reaction between those two variables which affect each other, thus intensifying the end result. At urban level and from the building point of view there are new possibilities which can influence security and safety can improve reliability for those people.

2-1. Shahre Sookhte/Burnt City 5000 years ago there was an ancient trading centre city in Iran, in the same region as Bam. That city was known as Shahre e Sookhte which means ‘a city that is burnt’.

This ancient city was found about thirty years ago, hidden under the ground. Site investigation revealed that an ancient civilization must have existed there.

Now the area is covered with dust which has collected and been compacted by natural land-shifting processes over the course of time.

It was located on the Silk Road, leading from Mesopotamia and India to China. Covering an area of 151 hectares, it was the most important trading and cultural centre (or ‘fertile crescent’ as Jims Morris called it in The History of Form) between Mesopotamia in the west and Send civilization in the east. Its was at its peak between 2600 and 2400 BC with a population of 5000 and an area of 80 hectare. Later, by 2500 BC, it was reduced to a small city (maybe because of an earthquake), and in about 2000 BC when the Hirmand Delta River dried up people left it. It was a big desert city with a complex irrigation system that made use of ceramic pipes for the water and sewage system.

It is also known that the people were familiar with head (cranium) surgery instruments … but nature took its course so that now, like its name ‘burned city’, there are now no more signs of life there.

One of the explanations for the high level of civilization was the city’s strategic location. It was not only located on a very important international trade route but also in a region which didn’t have any competitors offering similar services or doing business with the merchants and other travelers in the neighborhood. That uniqueness in the region had two main causes. The first factor was the availability of natural resources, such as water supplies which are not common in desert regions. The second factor was security. Maintaining as much as possible security in desert regions in the past involved finding special locations for the cities, mainly in the natural landscape areas. Therefore the considerable numbers of people who would settle in such an area would attract other people from small settlements in the vicinity so that the area as a whole would gain extra influence, thus increasing the advantages of living in a city at that time.

Two disasters turned that splendid city into the pile of dust that it now is. After the first disaster the city was damaged but it had still some inhabitants. But after the second disaster it never recovered, nor did the neighborhood and slowly it was reduced to a pile of ashes and dust.

Lajevardiha house, Kashan, Iran

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HORIZONTAL VIEW OF “RECONSTRUCTION IN BAM”

2-2. The Sialk Hills The Sialk Hills are located on the western side of the city of Kashan, a beautiful desert city full of interesting highly-detailed vernacular architecture.

By digging in the Sialk Hills a 7000-year-old civilization was found.

The skeletons of a man and a girl, who were most probably buried under debris resulting from an earthquake, prove that there were also earthquakes in the area in ancient times (the Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia – Wikipedia). In general, the Middle East region incorporates all known types of major plate boundaries in its territory, as well as significant active intra plate deformation. And in regional terms Iran is one of the countries most prone to such disasters.

3. Bam The city of Bam is located in the Kerman province in the south-east of Iran. Due to its high altitude, which is approximately 1060 m above sea level, its climate is not as hot as it can sometimes be (the altitude actually has the effect of moderating the climate).

The 2,500-year-old citadel is located on top of a giant rock to the northeast of the city. This citadel is the world’s largest and most famous clay and mud break building collection of monuments.

On Friday December 26th 2003 an earthquake with a magnitude of 6.5 MS struck the city, while the popu-

lation was sleeping. Due to the particular earthquake circumstances (its shallow depth, its epicenter and the high amount of energy released) more than 70% of the buildings in the city were ruined or severely damaged.

The examples described above show that it is possible for a city to either become a forgotten place or a beautiful sanctuary in their future. Reconstruction in a ruined landscape has two sides to it. One of those facets is good and the other is bad. What is good is that we can make new decisions and design things easily which is not possible when a town or city is full of people. The bad part, of course, is that people are killed and buildings are destroyed. Indeed, it is the destruction of the buildings that gives rise to the massive loss of life.

Many people in that area think they will never return to the city because they are afraid of the future risks.

They claim that their lives would not be safe. But there are still a lot of people who want to return to their ancient city. As a matter of fact it is almost too late to decide on where the new city will be situated because the government has already started some of the re-building work and it is convinced that the best location is the old site. Although research guarantees that there will almost certainly be new earthquakes there in the future, it is the political aspect of the problem that has the greatest impact on design aspects for the future.

In the city there was a river known as Posht e Rood which has dried up in recent years. Due to climate

Climate graphs, typical variations in annual temperature and precipitation in three

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2,500-year-old citadel

change and desertification in the area all the green areas disappeared less than half a century ago. Information gleaned from interviews with local people also shows that agriculture is no longer possible like it was in the past. This fact and the statistics resulting from that have only increased since the earthquake. Few people are collecting/harvesting any products. Due to the exceptionally dry seasons of recent years, the quality of the agriculture is not as good as it was in the past. Life in that small city centered on agriculture, the provincial road connection and tourism. Now, two years after the last heavy earthquake, the only one of those three components still more or less intact is the provincial road. The citadel which once attracted people to the city has been ruined for more than 80%. Nowadays no tourists dare to go there. Before December 2003 Bam was known for its dates (from the date palm).

As has been explained above, the combination of the drought and the earthquake has had a devastating effect on agriculture. No high quality dates are exported from the city any more although the land has great potential for date production.

It was virtually a self-supporting city but now it is completely dependent on government support even though two years have already passed since the disaster took place. The citadel is living proof of the fact that it is possible for a city to easily lose many of its inhabitants. The citadel was once incredibly beautiful and important to visitors but no people have been living there for a long time. This means it is essential to have certain facilities to keep people in the area otherwise they will simply leave. Such retention of

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the population is not only important from the small scale economic point of view but also for the environment, both on a small and a large scale.

Population depletion in such a region will increase desertification and as Bam is very close to Kavir e Lut, the country’s central desert this remains a threat to the countryside and other neighboring towns and cities. Therefore retaining agriculture in the region, if that can be done in a normal way, would not only increase the number of inhabitants and the economic prospects but it would also indirectly improve environmental efficiency, because there is no jungle in the region at the moment and the only green land/forest areas were the palms and other kinds of cultivated gardens. Although the reconstruction of the city has slowly started, the infrastructures and

Agriculture Economy of the Tourism city (Provincial) Road

Economy of the city

HORIZONTAL VIEW OF “RECONSTRUCTION IN BAM”

basic organization has not yet been clearly planned or, if it has been planned, it has certainly not yet been implemented.

Summary 1. Sustainable reconstruction and development methods remind us to consider all aspects of sustainability instead of limiting ourselves to building construction strength and stiffness. Although that is a necessary aspect, it is not the only consideration.

2. Natural disasters might well have more complex effects on a habitat than those that simply appear on the surface.

3. A phenomenon such as an earthquake could increase the normal vulnerability of desert cities in terms of desertification. It can, however, also give rise to the making of new decisions aimed at decreasing the vulnerability of the habitat in such a situation. To summarize, the main causes of desertification are: - Overgrazing on fragile arid and semiarid gras slands - Deforestation without reforestation - Surface mining without land reclamation - Irrigation techniques that lead to increased erosion - Salt builds up and waterlogged soil - Farming on land with unsuitable terrain or soils - Soil compaction by farm machinery and grazing cattle - The wind factor

7. Agriculture in the city of Bam is of extra importance because of the environmental repercussions which not only make it economically important but also important from the point of view that it will provide employment and attract people.

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Shohre Shahnoori graduated from Technical University of Science and Technology of Iran, Tehran. She has 12 years of working as engineer and designer for Urban and Building design and management (including design and performance) mostly in the tropical climate, in hot regions in the southern part of Iran. September 2004 she arrived in The Netherlands. Working on a suitable building system for seismic desert cities. She is a PhD candidate in Building Technology in the chair of Product Development at Technical University of Delft and a faculty member of Hormozgan University.

References: - http://www.answers.com/topic/kashan - http://www.earth-policy.org/Updates/Update23.htm - http://www.nationalgeographic.com/eye/deforestation/ effect.html - http://www.eden-foundation.org/project/desertif.html - http://usinfo.state.gov/products/pubs/desertific/biblio.htm - http://scitation.aip.org/getabs/servlet/GetabsServlet

4. The situation that “no building can withstand a strong earthquake” has already (slightly) changed for the decades to come. Earthquakes are not foreseeable but a knowledge of the probability of occurrence would help designers in the considering and enforcing of seismic codes and in the making of the necessary extra arrangements or decisions. If one looks at what has been done in Japan one sees that it is also possible to decrease the level of vulnerability for inhabitants.

5. The political aspects of a design process which affect the final results are very important and are sometimes even the most important item.

6. The reconstruction of desert cities requires special consideration due to the sheer vulnerability of the land.

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Projectcoördinator Jan Peter Stellema van Artsen zonder Grenzen was midden in het rampgebied in Pakistan toen de aardbeving toesloeg. Hij werd geëvacueerd, maar keerde snel terug naar het zwaar getroffen dorpje Lamnian om een medische hulppost op te zetten. Jan Peter hield een dagboek bij. Uiteindelijk is hij 4 maanden in het gebied gebleven en inmiddels zet hij zich in voor de problemen in de Democratische Republiek Congo.

Dagboek van een ooggetuige Arsten zonder Grenzen in Pakistan..

Jan Peter Stellema 8 oktober – Het dorp is weg “Ik was thuis, het was negen uur ‘s ochtends. We zaten aan tafel. Met een Duitse collega nam ik sollicitatiegesprekken af toen de muren kauwgom werden. We renden naar buiten. Tien seconden later was het huis weg.

Onze verpleegkundige - een Zweedse - heeft enkele uren klem gezeten in het puin, maar kon gelukkig worden bevrijd. Ze is inmiddels geëvacueerd en maakt het naar omstandigheden goed.

De buren hebben drie dochters verloren. Hier pal voor mij worden nu vijf doden langs gedragen. Het dorp is weg. Alles is ingestort.

Ravage na de ramp Foto Ton Koene

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Wat kan ik doen? Helpen is mijn werk, normaal zouden we de armen uit de mouwen moeten steken, maar we hebben niks. De medicijnen liggen onder het puin. We hadden ze in de kelder van ons huis gelegd, omdat het daar koel is. We moeten zorgen dat er hulp komt. Er wonen hier achtduizend mensen.

We hebben dekens nodig en warme kleren. De winter komt eraan en er is niks over.

16 oktober - Vreselijke verwondingen Meer dan een week na de ramp komen er nog steeds mensen met vreselijke verwondingen die nog niet behandeld zijn naar onze kliniek. Veel van deze verwondingen zijn ontstoken en moeten snel schoon-

gemaakt worden om te voorkomen dat mensen aan de ontstekingen overlijden. Iemand had een enorme hoofdwond. Grote stukken huid hingen erbij. Onze Canadese dokter heeft de wond ontsmet en de huid dichtgenaaid.

De ernstig gewonde patiënten gaan naar de tent hiernaast, waar een team van Pakistaanse chirurgen geweldig werk doet. Afgelopen vrijdag hebben ze 36 operaties gedaan. We werken hand in hand en behandelen alles wat je onder deze omstandigheden kunt behandelen.

Hulp aan gewonden Foto Ton Koene

Wat nu het meeste nodig is, zijn tenten. Er is een enorm gebrek aan onderdak voor de mensen die hun huis verloren hebben.

20 oktober - Er moet snel iets gebeuren Eén helikoptervlucht per dag is niet genoeg om de duizenden die hier vastzitten te helpen. De meest spoedeisende gevallen kunnen we soms per helikopter afvoeren, maar de toestand van de rest van de bevolking hier verslechtert met de dag.

De problemen zullen alleen maar erger worden als de winter begint en de eerste sneeuw gaat vallen.

We hebben tot nu toe maar 2000 dekens aangevoerd gekregen per helikopter. Dat is niets in vergelijking tot wat hier allemaal nodig is. De mensen zijn bang en wanhopig. Er moet snel iets gebeuren.

Er zijn heel, heel veel gewonden naar onze kliniek gekomen in de dagen sinds de ramp. Nog steeds komen er mensen aan met ernstig ontstoken verwondingen. In de afgelopen dagen hebben we amputaties gedaan en veel verbanden ververst van mensen die we al behandeld hadden.

Medisch gezien is de situatie in de vallei, die 25.000 mensen telt, onder controle. Daardoor heb ik mijn team kunnen opsplitsen en een gedeelte naar een nog geïsoleerdere plaats kunnen sturen waar nog helemaal geen hulp geweest was.

“Ik word ontzettend kwaad als ik zoiets zie. (..) Er moet iets veranderen.”

Toen ik vanochtend uit mijn tent kwam, zag ik een grote familie uit Rashan, dat nog verder weg ligt dan Lamnian. Ze waren met kleine kinderen te voet onderweg naar Muzaffarabad, omdat er nog geen hulp geweest was in Rashan. Ik word ontzettend kwaad als ik zoiets zie. Twaalf dagen na de ramp heeft nog niets dit gebied bereikt, behalve die 2.000 dekens, die per helikopter zijn gebracht. Er moet iets veranderen.

Tentenkamp Foto Ton Koene

24 oktober – Over twee weken is het winter Er komen hier nog steeds meer dan honderd patiënten per dag aan. Gisteren kwamen zes gewonden uit de bergen die nog helemaal geen medische zorg hadden gehad. Het gebrek aan helikopters blijft het grote probleem. Gisteren hebben vijf zwaargewonden die naar Muzafarrabad moesten, vier uur voor niets bij de landingsbaan zitten wachten en het ziet ernaar uit dat er ook vandaag geen helikopter komt.

Over twee weken is het winter en hebben we hier 1000 tenten nodig. Er zijn er in de afgelopen weken maar 204 aangevoerd. In Lamnian is de winter normaal gesproken niet echt streng, de sneeuw smelt overdag, maar in het dorpje Rashan, hier vlakbij hoger in de bergen, wordt twee tot drie meter sneeuw verwacht. De mensen daar proberen de grotere steden te bereiken.

Voorlopig hebben we geluk met het weer. Het is overdag nog warm en ‘s nachts is de kou nog te doen, tenminste voor volwassenen. Een paar dagen geleden is het twintig dagen oude kindje van de

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hoofdverpleegkundige van Lamnian overleden aan de kou. Een dag later hielp één van onze artsen bij de geboorte van een kerngezonde baby. De contrasten zijn enorm.

Vaccinaties Foto Ton Koene

3 november 2005 - De weg is open!

Er is nieuws! De weg naar Lamnian is open! We zijn nu niet meer afhankelijk van helikopters voor de aanvoer van hulp en er komt weer vers voedsel het dorp en de rest van de vallei binnen. Het leek wel bevrijdingsdag toen de eerste vrachtwagen aankwam. We kunnen nu ook de zwaargewonden overbrengen naar de kliniek in Hattian, een uur hiervandaan. Ze hoeven niet meer eindeloos te wachten op een helikopter.

Nog steeds komen er gewonden uit het hoge deel van de vallei die nog geen enkele hulp gehad hebben.

Vandaag waren dat er vijf. In totaal hebben we vandaag 84 patiënten behandeld. Direct na de aard-

beving hadden we nog 130 patiënten per dag.

Wat we wel zien is dat er steeds meer mensen met allerlei vage klachten komen die te maken hebben met de traumatische ervaringen van 8 oktober. Er is inmiddels een psycholoog onderweg die hier een project voor traumaverwerking zal opzetten.

Een andere prioriteit is het opzetten van een vaccinatiecampagne tegen tetanus voor in ieder geval de zwangere vrouwen en gewonden. Verder blijven we hard bezig met de aanvoer van zaken als tenten en dekens. We wachten nog steeds op dekens en ook de hoeveelheid tenten is nog niet genoeg. Deze week zorgen we voor duizenden pakketten met zaken als zeep en shampoo, 2000 gereedschapssets waar mensen onderkomens mee kunnen bouwen en 1000 jerrycans om drinkwater in te vervoeren.

Tussen alle ellende hier gaat het gewone leven ook door. Overmorgen is het suikerfeest (het einde van de Ramadan) en de mensen zijn zich daarop aan het voorbereiden. Er zijn zes kappers opgedoken die op daken van ingestorte huizen mensen zitten te knippen…

Ik kom net terug van de buren, waar eergisteren een kerngezond jongetje is geboren in een tent die we aangevoerd hebben. Zeven mensen wonen daar nu op een oppervlakte van vier bij vier meter.

Het weer is nog steeds goed, alleen de nachten worden nu wel koud. Onze kliniek hier blijft in ieder geval de hele winter draaien. We verwachten dat nog meer mensen uit de hoger gelegen delen van de vallei naar Lamnian komen. We blijven wel proberen andere dorpen te bereiken, zeker nu steeds weer wegen worden vrijgemaakt.”

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Familie in tent Foto Ton Koene

Artsen zonder Grenzen (AzG) verleent medische hulp aan bevolkingsgroepen in nood, aan slachtoffers van natuurrampen, van rampen door de mens veroorzaakt en van oorlogen en burgeroorlogen. Zij doet dit zonder onderscheid te maken naar ras, religie, levensbeschouwing of politieke opvatting.

Medische hulpverlening omvat alle vormen van medische zorg, maar heeft in de eerste plaats betrekking op het bieden van curatieve en preventieve zorg. Het primaire doel is het helpen van mensen in nood met medische zorg.

Niettemin kan AzG in bepaalde situaties meer dan alleen medische hulp te verlenen (water, sanitaire voorzieningen, voedsel, huisvesting).

In veel gebieden waar AzGrenzen werkt, worden rechten van mensen geschonden. In die gevallen is noodhulp alleen niet voldoende. AzG treedt daarom ook op als pleitbezorger. Dat doen zij bijvoorbeeld door druk uit te oefenen op internationale organisaties zoals de Verenigde Naties, en door zich publiekelijk uit te spreken over de misstanden die zij in hun werk tegenkomen.

In 2005 zond AzG 1128 medewerkers uit naar ca. 30 landen.

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DAGBOEK VAN EEN OOGGETUIGE

Wat doet Artsen zonder Grenzen in het rampgebied?

Direct na de aardbeving vertrok Artsen zonder Grenzen naar het rampgebied in Noord-Pakistan en Noord-India. We gingen aan het werk in de moeilijk toegankelijke locaties, die vaak alleen per helikopter of te voet bereikbaar waren.

Per dag behandelden de teams honderden patiënten, waarvan velen botbreuken en ontstoken verwondingen hadden. Anderen waren getroffen door het zogenaamde crush syndrome of hadden psychosociale hulp nodig. De teams werden in de moeilijk toegankelijke, hooggelegen dorpen geconfronteerd met zwaargewonde mensen die al dagen verstoken waren van medische hulp. Regen en sneeuw bemoeilijkte de hulpverlening en de situatie van de slachtoffers.

In totaal werden door Artsen zonder Grenzen zo’n 120 internationale medewerkers ingezet, waaronder artsen, chirurgen, verpleegkundigen, nierspecialisten, psychologen, maatschappelijk werkers, water- en hygiëne deskundigen en logistieke medewerkers. Ter plaatse werd samengewerkt met Pakistaanse en Indiase medewerkers.

Er werd ruim 400 ton noodhulp aangevoerd naar het rampgebied. Daarbij ging het om medicijnen en medisch materiaal (onder meer verbandmiddelen, gips, dialysemachines en speciale voeding met hoge energiewaarde), materialen voor drinkwatervoorziening (tanks, pompen en waterzuiveringsapparatuur) en onder meer 70.000 dekens, 10.000 slaapmatten en 1200 speciale tenten.

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The costs of natural disasters, lives lost, homes destroyed, economies disrupted, have skyrocketed in this century, as the world’s population has grown and moved into areas that are vulnerable to earthquakes, hurricanes, landslides, and other natural hazards. When founding a city, people judged an area on it’s fertility, its beauty, it’s economic position near trade routes and water, underestimating or not knowing the “natural” danger of the place. Now that we have the power of knowledge, how do we deal with this phenomenon of cities or urban activities in nature hazardous zones? And what happens when disaster strikes? Atlantis asked various people engaged in urban planning to voice their opinion on the subject.

Rebuilding to be destroyed Reactions on the polis statement Prof. dr. ir. Han V.J. Meyer Professor Urban Compositions

Dr. ir. Machiel. J. van Dorst Associate Professor Environmental design

It is interesting to see that there is often a high condensation of development in areas that are vulnerable to natural hazards, such as deltas, areas near volcano’s etc. This is mainly due to the good position of the area in the (trade) network and the fertility of the area. But “are there areas that are not dangerous?”. The turnover rate of disasters is increasing, but is still relatively slow. What you see in some third world countries is that after a disaster a village is rebuilt some distance away from the disaster area. But when after a while illegal building activities start to reappear, they appear in the same area that was destroyed in the disaster. Then there is also the aspect that a place gains a history throughout time. People are very attached to the history of a place or locality; being located is an essence of being. This makes it very hard to transfer the built area of a city from its original possibly risky site to a new and safer one.

In the Netherlands in the 16th century several cities were swept away by water but were persistently rebuilt. Some times they receded a bit from the water, but apparently the benefits of the location

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(wealth near water, fertile ground, etc.) weigh far more than the disadvantages. Is it not an illusion that because we have more scientific knowledge about the risks of natural disasters, it is possible to evade all the risks? The most important thing we can do is take the risk of a natural disaster into account and use this knowledge to our benefit. For example, because of the danger of earthquakes in California, houses are built out of wood so that they would be more resistant to earthquakes. A cost aspect is also attached to rebuilding an urban area on the original site. An urbanized region such as the Randstad Holland represents not only a concentration of population but also of capital: buildings, factories, offices, infrastructure, etcetera. In the end, rebuilding a part of the urban area and protecting it, is far cheaper than moving the whole city. Important is to study our own tradition of designing urban compositions with water-structures, dikes and dams.

Nowadays we see that there is a trend towards giving more space to nature, instead of only warding against it. Techniques are being developed that go along with nature. For example, by not heightening and broadening the dykes, but giving water more space in the landscape and the city. Concerning safety, however, there are contradictions. On the one hand there is a tendency to give more space to water by flooding the river forelands, but on the other hand cities are developing new ways that make it possible to build in these forelands. In the discussions about these developments, the opinion is increasing that it is fine to build in the river forelands, but that the risk that goes with the possibility of flooding the forelands in case of extreme high water levels is not for the government and insurance companies will

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not refund the suffered damages. In Tokyo there are large land reclamation areas in the bay, but with the aspect of the rising sea level these areas have become vulnerable. It has become ”linke soep”.

Although rebuilding seems to be the best option, it is not durable in the long term. Throughout history we can see traces of cultures that have vanished due to changes in the climate. There are even villages in the Netherlands, on the islands of Vlieland and Schiermonikoog and in the province of Zeeland, that have been washed away by the sea. Ter Heijde, called the “walking village”, is a 16th century village that has been “devoured” by water bit by bit and rebuilt on the other side of the city. In New Orleans, some of the flooded areas are as far below sea level as the Zuidplaspolder in the South of the Netherlands.

For these areas in specific the question of whether or not to rebuild the area is of great importance.

Should we rebuild knowing that the risk of another flooding is high, or should we search for other areas in the city where we can build and handle the water in a different manner.

How far should you go when tempting faith?

Ir. Camelia Mulders-Kusumo PhD candidate City & Region

The Polis statement of “Rebuilding to be destroyed” has triggered me to reflect back to the origins of architectural striving (man’s earliest effort) to survive the natural disasters. Since ancient times, the human being has been aware (has face) of the danger of natural disasters. However, humans are blessed with the capability to create and to build, in an effort to survive these disasters. As we have seen, most of the vernacular built environments were constructed in an effort to deal with disasters. In rugged terrain where people’s lives must necessarily challenge the difficulties of topography and the vicissitudes of nature, mankind has invented diverse solutions that are creatively and spontaneously generated in order to make such rugged locales inhabitable and livable.

One of these architectural strivings examples that I know of is the local settlement of the ‘Kampung naga’, a farmer village of a few hundred inhabitants,

located about 250 km southeast of Jakarta, Indonesia. Since this village is located at the low-lying area of the Valley of Ciwulan River, the village often experiences flashflood1 during the rainy season, which can sweep away the settlement. Despite this challenge, the villagers always return and settle back to this location after the disaster, the abundant fertility of the riverbank is a stronger attraction than the fear of the disaster. Thus the villagers generated a creative solution in order to survive this regular flooding and to make this area inhabitable. They applied a special construction for their dwellings. They built their houses on piles, and design it as such that the house can float during the flashflood, while at the same time being anchored, so the flood would not displace the house and it can land when the water has passed.

The wisdom to be derived from them goes beyond economic and aesthetic consideration and touched the far tougher problem how to live and let live, of how to keep peace with the nature. We often forget that many of the vernacular architecture or built environment, often considered as primitive, has resulted from human intelligence applied to unique natural environment and its disaster. This form of building or settlement is not produced by specialists, but by the spontaneous and continuing activity of a community in an effort to survive this hazardous earth and in general to respect the ‘creation’. In fact, as Rudofsky2 has formulated, the philosophy and know-how of the anonymous builder of this primitive dwellers, represents the largest untapped source of architectural inspiration for industrial men in surviving the uncertainty of the nature.

Personally, I think we should except our faith and pray to the living God. There is nothing eternal in this world, everything is perishable and we will never be able to control nature. Even though we have acquired the advancement of knowledge and technology that enable us to utilize and to explore our earth to certain extents, we have to admit that there are still many hidden and for human beings un-controllable features of nature, which might never be discovered.

Notes: 1 A flashflood is a rapid flooding of low-lying areas, rivers and streams that is caused by the intense rainfall associated with thunderstorm, or multiple training thunderstorms (http://en.wikipedia. org/wiki/Flash_flood) 2 Rudofsky, B. (1965) Architecture without architects: a short introduction to non-pedigreed architecture. New York: Museum of Modern Art.

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Ing. Jan Kraaij Project manager urban infrastructure at Witteveen + Bos

and less loss of lives as well. The question is what kind of construction will be needed for buildings and infrastructure to “survive” natural disasters and what construction costs are feasible. Japan, Switzerland and Indonesia have different standards and different disasters.

For ages mankind fought against the elements and built and rebuilt houses and infrastructure after they where destroyed. Sometimes they move to “safer” places, and construction methods were improved.

Mostly safety was improved whilst staying in the same place.

It’s important to recognize that while disasters offer opportunities for change, they also reveal and exacerbate pre-existing weaknesses. In the devastated region of South East Asia donors and communities call for a “transformation” of the region rather than mere reconstruction. Urbanists are requested to play an important role in this.

In Japan high rise buildings are provided with shockreducers to avoid collapse during earthquakes. In the Netherlands dikes were strengthened and raised to keep the sea out. But nature is not the only risk that exists.

In Switzerland in every urban area sufficient shelter capacity must be included below buildings in case of a nuclear war. A nuclear war is not a nature disaster.

However provisions for sheltering are included in the Swiss building regulations.

In the Netherlands a land covering warning system can alert every inhabitant in case a disaster may occur. Evacuating people and livelihoods to safer places can prevent loss of lives. But material and economic losses are always the consequence when nature strikes back. After the danger is over, people however want to go back to their evacuated or even destroyed homes. In Aceh for instance, communities were moved to safer places at 2km distance from the coast. The new built villages are now left already and people moved towards the coast again.

In the Tsunami stricken area provisions were made and planned concerning an early warning system and the construction of refugee camps in “safe” places.

However it seems people accept the risks as far as that they realize they are in danger. Urbanists may contribute in spatial planning to provide in- between places where people can go after a natural disaster occurs. But will it be realistic to do so when perhaps it will take 100 years till such an event will happen again? On the other hand history has proven that places can be made safer by the adoption of other construction techniques. We all remember the pictures of a mosque in Aceh being the only building which resisted the destroying waves of the Tsunami.

The construction was earthquake-proof which lead to higher resistant reinforced concrete. Improving construction techniques will lead to less damage

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Yuchung Li Student Msc 4 Urbanism

Though the Asia continent is the largest ground plate in the world, the most Asian areas are still far more crowded than most European territory, due to enormous mountainous areas. Especially for those islands scattered outside nearby the boundary of the Asian continent like Japan, Indonesia, Philippines, the incredible high-density cities were not made only by cultural difference but also by the geographical constraints.

Taiwan, as a small island in between Japan and the Philippines archipelagos, has a similar situation with its limited area for human activities. The dramatic economic development has made the urbanization penetrate to every corner including lots of areas which are not suitable for urban functions at all.

The unstopped exploitation has made it much more difficult for the island to face the intense tropical climate and its weak soil condition. Earthquakes, typhoons, and floods all made this island suffer much in the last few decades and a high price was paid for re-construction. However, nature always has more power than humans in Taiwan’s past experience, while humans tried to repair again and again.

Now, to face this awful situation, an alternative opinion arose in recent years saying that the line between nature and humans should be re-defined with and increased respect for nature. Should the area be flooded, just let it be flooded. Should the

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area only be for trees and green, just let it be green with trees. The unsuitable areas should be depicted with a wider consideration for the whole national perspective, whilst the compact city should be restructured with good urban quality to stop foolhardy exploitation. Then, a contrast between nature and human can be created, nature can be respected and it can maintain its vitality, and humans can feel easy whilst living peacefully with nature.

Wouter van der Veur Student Msc 2 Urbanism

That’s a lot of questions in one statement. I can identify at least three: 1. Should we build in hazardous areas?

2. Should we rebuild the cities located in hazardous areas once they have been struck by a disaster?

3. And what to do directly after disaster has struck: build temporary cities?

I will focus on the first two questions.

The first question I think is crucial. In history settlements did not only appear in safe places. To the contrary: the most dangerous places often turned out to be ideal for trade (harbors) or were the most fertile (like riverbeds or near volcanoes). Economic factors were more important than the risks of getting hit. And in fact this is no different today. Most of the inhabitants on this planet live in dangerous places like river delta’s or areas with high earthquake risks. And the risk of many people dying from nature disasters is only increasing. These disasters may be caused by the global warming of the earth, but the biggest threat derives from the ongoing urbanization of this planet. More and more people, especially in third world countries, live together in poorly constructed cities situated in high risk areas. In 2030 an estimated 2 billion people will live in slums and 70% of these slums will be situated in risk areas (Sprangers, 2005).

Not much has changed in that respect: people still move to the areas (cities in this case) for economic reasons even when aware of the risk to get struck by disaster. Improving the housing and living conditions for those people would be an important step to

That does not mean there are no disasters threatening this country. The Dutch are a ‘bad’ example when it comes to building in hazardous areas. In a country largely below sea level it has become part of our history to fight water. It is only recently that we really start acknowledging the forces of nature and instead of (only) fighting water we now also allow it to move where it would naturally go. We allow more space for the river to flood for example and try not to build in the lower areas of our country.

And I believe that to be a very important change in thinking. The planned building of 15.000 – 30.000 houses in the lowest polder of the Netherlands (the Zuidplaspolder) is in this respect hard to understand!

It is not like economic factors force us to build there, but still we have to build 6 meters below sea level!

So, should we build in hazardous areas? No, not if there are alternatives.

Rebuilding an area that has been hit is a different story. Most of the inhabitants of New Orleans will want to move back to the city they are attached to, with its rich history and its situation near the coast. However in a case like New Orleans there is the one time opportunity to learn from mistakes and do it better this time (or let’s hope it’s a one time opportunity). So I think it should not be rebuilt the same. Times have changed and knowledge has improved. The focus should in the first place be on taking environmental issues seriously (and there the US have a long way to go…). So I believe that after investigating the future risks for humans and nature it should be decided where building is allowed and where to allow nature to take over!

decrease the number of disaster casualties.

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New schools, a clearly defined city center and new green spaces connecting to the river: following the devastation wrought by Hurricane Katrina everything must be rebuilt in New Orleans. But how? New Orleans desperately requires inspiring plans for its regeneration. Together with the Tulane School of Architecture in New Orleans and the American art magazine Artforum, the NAI has asked six renowned architecture practices from the Netherlands and the USA to develop visions for symbolic and shared spaces for the New Orleans metropolitan area. The practices are MVRDV, Ben van Berkel (UN Studio) and Adriaan Geuze (West 8) from the Netherlands, and Huff + Gooden Architects, Morphosis and Hargreaves Associates from the USA.

Newer Orleans, a shared space Exhibition NAi Rotterdam Laura de Bonth en Raquel van Donselaar

“Newer Orleans - A Shared Space” is an exhibition that presents shared spaces and symbols for New Orleans. The rebuilding of this devastated city is already in full swing but this process will mostly see the return of existing structures and urban planning models. The question remains whether the city could have a different future in which architecture serves to create a new sense of social commitment, political involvement and engagement with the landscape.

Exposing new Orleans New Orleans and its swampy environs constitute one of the most distinctive cultural, geographic, ecological and urban sites in the world. Surrounded by lakes, rivers and wetlands, the city is suspended within a web of extreme conditions. This specificity had inspired highly creative architectural, urban and engineering responses as well as caused unimaginable difficulties. The peculiar relationship the city formed with its environment over time has moved from building successive layers upon existing natural processes to imposition. The natural levees which formed along the river eventually became built and fixed. While developments of the 18th and 19th centuries can be seen as a series of infrastructure interventions provoked by the city’s precarious connection to its specific environment, today there is a new and urgent need to reevaluate (and perhaps reinvent) the relationship between infrastructure, the city, industry and the larger ecological context in the

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Atlantis - april 2006

Exhibition corridor

21st century. The multiple layers of infrastructure which constitute this bewildering engineering of the landscape, produces a virtual Life Support System for the city, on the one hand, while threatening its very existence on the other. Like a patient dependant on its machine, its survival and sustainability depends on constant maintenance and manipulation of complex mechanical and natural systems.

Exhibition The sound of people crying, screaming, singing for hope, starts to rise when entering the exhibition area. The first corridor exposes the devastation of the city, by hurricane Katrina and the subsequent flooding. Three different TV screens show news reports and reactions on the disaster. With the title ‘Katrina toll continues to rise’, a shocked reporter, from actuality program Nova, shows that the devastation in Mississippi and the neighbouring states of Louisiana and Alabama is enormous. More than 1.3

NEWER ORLEANS

million households are without electricity, and countless buildings have collapsed. The authorities fear a massive rise in the number of victims, as a notion of the true scope of the disaster becomes clear. Politicians are at their wits’ end, and in some parts of a now lawless New Orleans hordes of police officers are abandoning their duties. As many as then thousand people may have died. New Orleans is ablaze. Five days after Hurricane Katrina, the nightmare and interlinked increasing anger is worsening. New Orleans’ black mayor is furious with Washington because relief is taking so long to arrive. More troops have been sent in, with orders to shoot looters on sight,

come to a point where critics suspect the authorities of wanting to rebuild New Orleans as a less black, less poor and less criminal city.

The projectthemes and location in New Orleans

School, City Hall, Landscape The invited practices have been asked to address these issues on three scales - neighborhood, city and region - and to develop a vision for communal spaces that can bring the city together again. On the neighborhood level MVRDV and Huff + Gooden Architects have been asked to design a school; on the city level Ben van Berkel and Morphosis will design a central “mediatheque,” and Adriaan Geuze and Hargreaves Associates will design a landscape with a real identity for the region. Each of the designs aims to deepen the relationship between geographical, architectural and social structures. Following are the practices own descriptions of their work, as presented in the exhibition.

New Orleans after Katrina source: Paolo Pellegrin, Magnum Photos

but aid is still failing to arrive. The city is in utter chaos, and criticism on President Bush is growing by the hour.

The last screen shows the return to New Orleans, three months after Hurricane Katrina. The water has gone, but the reconstruction of the city is proceeding in a very curious fashion. Many residents of poor black districts are still not allowed to return to their homes, not even to pick up belongings. It has even

ELEMENTARY SCHOOL Schools are a vital component of civic identity at a neighborhood level and are in some way relevant to all strata of age and society. In New Orleans, like most places, school buildings double as community centers where meetings, social events and voting activities can take place. In addition, schools sometimes serve as emergency shelters or distribution points for aid and medical services.

MVRDV and Huff + Gooden made proposals for the

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design of a new Elementary School to replace Guste Elementary, an existing New Orleans Public School which was badly flooded.

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HUFF + GOODEN – RECOVERING CULTURAL LANDSCAPE The flood in New Orleans resulting from hurricane Katrina and the failure of the levees displaced the cultural landscape that defined life in the city, it’s patterns, rhythms, flows and ways of “being”. New Orleans is (was) a cultural landscape defined by relationships race, class and power stewed together and flavored by music, food, architecture, Creole culture, voodoo, celebration and decadence. The flooding revealed that this stew included levels of poverty and subsistent existence rarely exposed. It called into question the structures of power and the relationships between the haves and the have-nots.

The site was originally developed in the 1830s out of a large, swampy, mosquito infested area three to ten feet below sea level. The existing infrastruc-

MVRDV - THE HILL We came across a drawing of one school child. She drew this hill with people walking up to the top in the rain. It had something religious as well as sentimental to it, but its simplicity was highly appealing. Perhaps we should build and realize her dream…..A school can serve as a public hill. From there everyone can look over the neighborhood, the city, the landscape.

It can be a haven where children play, with benches and swings in the trees. All programmatic elements are situated above see level and can be used in case of emergency. They protrude from the hill, as tubes, to shelter the children and to prevent them from possible outside intrusions. Thus they form verandas, as in southern homes, inverting the enclosed school-

ture of highways and streets that surround the site isolated and marginalized the neighborhood. 49,8% of the neighborhood population lived below the

The hill by MVRDV

Design proposal by Huff + Gooden

yards of the traditional school…. Together they form a “sputnik”-like configuration, that can be visualized if one makes an X-ray of the hill. This “sputnik” is covered with earth. The slopes are public and area covered with grass. They can be used for playing, skateboarding, picnics and as tribunes towards the park with its sport activities. Thus the school becomes remarkable. Everyone knows where it is.

But at the same time it is modest. It is landscape.

It is maybe not architecture. It thus avoids the possible discussion on architectural representations, so vulnerable and politicized in this operation.

poverty line. The proposed design situates the new school as an urban instrument to recover, reveal and restrategize relationships within the neighborhood.

New housing is proposed in addition to the school to operate as urban infrastructure to support the cultural landscape. The spatial strategy of the proposed design is to signify the flows and rhythms of the neighborhood trough fluid spatial relationships that overlap and are phenomenally transparent.

Atlantis - april 2006

NEWER ORLEANS

DOWNTOWN ICON Various governmental organizations engaged in urban planning and legislation are currently scattered in satellite offices throughout the city. Their consolidation into a single site would not only be efficient but would serve as an emblem of unity during the recovery process of the city. The redefined city centre would serve as a meeting place, proving a central environment for the processes of recovery and growth. UN Studio synthesized the aspiration of the city for a symbolic building in a proposal for a “mediatheque”, while Morphosis worked on the reorganization of downtown New Orleans after the loss of 50% of it’s population.

smooth in elevation.

MEDIATHEQUE. The mediatheque as a civic institution offers the people of New Orleans learning opportunities; it stores and preserves information of all types, and furthers local structure. The building is primarily envisaged as a communicator, thus playing a role in reactivating the environment. Besides being a place of learning, the mediatheque is also a hub: a place for meeting and exchange with differently themed landscape plateaus that garland the building.

UN STUDIO – THE REGENARATION OF NEW ORLEANS Imagining the future of one of the world’s most vibrant, yet stricken places, this is what we envision : a public construction, open, accessible and forwardlooking. We see the building as part of a network of community centers, dedicated to learning and culture. Public institution such as these define and raise the quality of urban districts and produce vital opportunities for a young, developing population.

ZIGGURAT. The ziggurat is an ancient geometrical motif that is found in many cultures. The stair-like structure is rich in cosmological allusions, without having one definite cultural association. In this project the archetypical form is transformed into a design program that combines various public and private programs in a stepped series of radically different environments: sun-seeking versus shadowrich, open versus closed, serrated in profile versus

MORPHOSIS – A SHRINKING CITY IS IN FACT A MORE INTENSE CITY The question with which we are grappling is how to articulate a strategic plan for shrinking/concentrating/re-concentrating a New Orleans that is fundamentally transformative, yet rooted in the long history, culture and soul of the city. A focus on architecture of even urban design is too narrow as even the most powerfully symbolic buildings cannot transform an entire city. The project must be broadened to integrate demographics, economics, politics, and culture, at both the large scale and the fine grain.

We also choose to exploit our strengths as outsiders, removed from local politics and conflicts of interest, as well as to address the potential weakness of our naiveté by engaging local advisors in our process. Our process has involved ongoing dialogue with pillars of the local architectural, political, and academic communities; the compilation and analysis of the press, proposals, and debate both after and before Katrina hit; the review of historical disasters and comparable world cities for inspirational models; and proposing

Mediatheque by UN studio

Design proposal by Morphosis

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our own “false” solutions as a way to define and interrogate the problem and move the dialogue forward.

Given the prediction that the city, even three years out, will have lost 50% of its population, and the general assumption of uncertainty, the city realistically can neither re-build infrastructure nor resume services at pre-Katrina levels. Our plan entails a radical subtraction, followed by strategic intensification of key areas that connect the economic engines for New Orleans’ future and the cultural/social traditions of its roots. Beyond restoring the city to its pre-Katrina state, a comprehensive plan has the potential to address the city’s endemic socio-economic problems.

Contraction can provide an opportunity to radically transform and improve an urban system.

PARK While much of New Orleans’ identity developed from its relationship with the river, there is now virtually no awareness of the presence of the Mississippi. The actual day-to-day experience of the city is strangely disconnected from the river and lake. Trough their design for city parks, West 8 and Hargreaves Associates propose reshaping the city and seek for a new relation of New Orleans with the water. In their proposals they unfold the landscape into a collective infrastructure that would restore the environmental equilibrium of the entire city.

Design proposal by hargreaves associates

HARGREAVES ASSOCIATES – REBUILDING A BROKEN CITY The Hargreaves Associate’s proposal for New Orleans examines the larger issues of rebuilding a broken city in the face of rising sea levels, more powerful hurricanes, and uncertain political will. After considering

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Atlantis - april 2006

the prospects of making the city smaller in order to protect it in the future, the proposals concludes that such approach may preserve the icons of the city, but it would not rebuild the culture and soul of the place. The proposal formulates an approach to rebuilding infrastructure that considers both the urban and sociological issues facing devastated parts of the city. Using real conditions to incite change such as the scale of larger infrastructure, property acquisition, and greater urban connectivity, the proposal envisions a re-occupied city. New and rebuilt infrastructure is employed both to create new relationships between people and water and to complete the latent connections that will contribute to repairing the vacated communities and culture of the city.

WEST 8 – CITY PARK, THE PROMISE OF A MINIATURE DELTA The potential City Park had of becoming truly metropolitan has been washed away along with the ambitious plan for its development. This project offers a strategy for its renewal. It is a design unfolding in three steps leading the park from current devastation to future splendor.

1 - RESCUE. The waste and contaminated soil from the park will be stored in a debris depot: a circular landfill in the lake. On the Eastern and Western sections of the park the cleaned area accommodates a temporary city of trailers, cabins and mobile homes.

Besides housing the homeless and facilitating the operation of the army, it provides room for schools, churches and community centers. Today the City Park should give shelter to its citizens, thus proving that the whole city is alive and functioning.

2 - VOLUNTEERS. Step Two continues the measures aimed at the cleaning of the territory. A renewed main water feature, the Jordan, together with a system of creeks provides a backbone for the park’s new water system. Two million trees will be planted as a feature botanic treasure house. A nursery and a sustainable water system will be created by the collective effort of large groups of volunteers. The citizens of The New Orleans will work together with people coming from all over the world and their work will become a symbol of hope and renewal.

3 - THE PROMISES OF A MINIATURE DELTA. Finally, a beautiful park will be the best expression of the pride and dignity of New Orleans’ population. Therefore the renaissance of the City Park is a necessity. From the newly created framework a world class park should be born, celebrating the Mississippi delta. The park could have four thematic streams: - The Jordan, a large meandering water body for leisure and ecology;

NEWER ORLEANS

sible in a city resplendent with three hundred years of architectural history.

•

Additional Background Information on the Participants MVRDV - www.mvrdv.nl MVRDV was established in 1991 by Winy Maas, Jacob van Rijs and Nathalie de Vries. Over the last fifteen years they have built up an international reputation for conceptual work. MVRDV are interested in the optimal use of land and space in densely populated areas.

Their solution is often to concentrate on stacking functions in order to retain the largest possible amount of free space.

UN Studio - www.unstudio.com UN Studio was established in 1988 by Ben van Berkel and Caroline Bos. In 1990 they won the commission to design the Erasmusbrug in Rotterdam. They designed the Bijvoet Centre for NMR Facilities in Utrecht and their designs for the Mercedes Benz Museum, the Arnhem Central Masterplan and Genoa harbor are currently under construction. Their work is characterized by forms that undulate, bend and fold and by buildings that are increasingly complex in form and construction.

Design proposal by West 8

- Promenade of music with an architecturally designed zigzagging gutter; - Track of Katrina, a contemplative series of large lily ponds, commemorating the lives taken away by the disaster; - The Path of Freedom, a large sports track through the park leading to the lakeshore.

The new geography of the park will integrate new features with surviving elements of the existing park.

After the wounds left by the disaster are healed the park might reach this glorious stage.

Finally Can this exhibition of architecture, give New Orleans hope? The damage to the city from hurricane Katrina and the subsequent flooding, is so severe – more than 80% of the city flooded, with more areas under as much as ten feet of water – that most people have concentrated in the small and the personal as they contemplate rebuilding the city. Conversations tent to focus on houses, personal possessions, places of employment; anything to break down the enormity of the event and thus, perhaps, to be able to see beyond. This exhibition tries to shift the conversation to a larger scale, the community, the civic arena and the landscape, and to begin looking at the storm as a moment of opportunity. The cost for New Orleans has been painfully high, but the city can also use the experience to rebuild itself as a better designed, more equitable and more sustainable place. The projects demonstrate that a new 21ste century vernacular is pos-

West 8 - www.west8.nl West 8 was established in 1990 by Adriaan Geuze and others. The urban planning and landscape design office is now also increasingly involved in architectural projects. West 8’s approach to projects is dictated by a concern for ecology, climate and social circumstances. In the summer of 2005 Adriaan Geuze curated the second International Architecture Biennale in Rotterdam, which focused on design and technology in solutions for the ‘water problem’. With the Biennale Geuze wished to make clear that positive interventions are necessary to secure a safe future for the Netherlands and other countries.

Huff + Gooden Architects - www.huffgooden.com Huff + Gooden Architects was established in 1998 in Charleston, South Carolina by Ray Huff and Mario Gooden. The architecture, urban design and planning practice focuses on design and research into the relationship between architecture, knowledge and culture.

Huff is professor of Design at the Clemson University School of Architecture. Gooden is Professor of Design at Yale University and formerly worked at Zaha Hadid Architects. In his work and teaching he conducts research into architecture and the cultural landscape as a reflection of technology, race, class and gender.

Morphosis - www.morphosis.net Morphosis was established in 1972 by the architect Thomas Mayne and now employs 40 architects and designers based in Santa Monica.

Morphosis is well known for its unconventional forms and use of materials in projects such as the Diamond Ranch High School in California. This year Mayne received the Pritzker Architecture Prize, sometimes called the Nobel Prize for architecture, which annually honors “a living architect whose built work demonstrates a combination of those qualities of talent, vision, and commitment, which has produced consistent and significant contributions to humanity and the built environment through the art of architecture.”

Hargreaves Associates - www.hargreaves.com Hargreaves Associates is a practice for landscape architecture, planning, and urban design established in 1983 with offices in San Francisco, Cambridge and New York. It focuses on regenerating forgotten or abandoned areas for public use, often close to water or in city centers. The office is led by George Hargreaves and Mary Margaret Jones. Hargreaves is a tenured professor of Landscape Architecture and chairman of the Department of Landscape Architecture at the Harvard University Graduate School of Design. Jones is general director of Hargreaves Associates and has led projects including the Sydney Olympics Master Concept Design, University of Cincinnati Master Plan and Guadalupe River Park.

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Stedebouw als handelswaar, het einde van de stedebouwkunde ?

Han Meyer

Na het doorlezen van de laatste Atlantis (feb. 2006) bleef

vorm van de stad, dat is nu precies waar de stedebouwkunde

ik zitten met een knagend gevoel van onbehagen. Met

zich mee zou moeten bezighouden. Deze eigenschap van

“Urbanism goes ebay” als thema, kondigde de redactie aan

stedebouwkunde als wetenschappelijke discipline is steeds

te willen peilen wat de mogelijke consequenties zijn van de

kenmerkend geweest voor Europese universiteiten, met de

toenemende internationalisering en globalisering en voor de

TU-Delft in de voorste linies. Als er iets op het gebied van

Nederlandse stedebouw. Diverse artikelen in het nummer

stedebouw geëxporteerd zou moeten worden, dan is het

leggen vooral de nadruk op de kwaliteit van de Nederlandse

juist de kennis die is opgebouwd op het gebied van de stad

stedebouw als export-product. Bouwfonds MAB slaat zichzelf

als publieke zaak. Het pleidooi voor stedebouw als handels-

op de borst met haar ‘hoogwaardige copy-paste voorbeeld-

waar en voor afschaffing van stedebouw als publieke zaak is

projecten’ die overal in de wereld, en in toenemende mate

dan ook niet alleen modieus maar betekent in uiterste con-

in China, worden uitgevent. Stedebouw als marktwaar, en

sequentie het einde van de stedebouwkunde als kritische en

stedebouwkundigen als handelsreizigers die de hele wereld

maatschappelijk relevante wetenschap. Het belang van het

afstropen om te kijken waar ze hun handelswaar aan de man

besef van stedebouw als publieke zaak geldt des te meer als

kunnen brengen. Onze eigen docent Daan Zandbelt doet

we ons bezighouden met landen waarin een dergelijk besef

daarin onbekommerd mee door te verklaren dat het maar

lange tijd geen kans kreeg. Zoals in China bijvoorbeeld. Nu

eens afgelopen moet zijn met stedebouw als ‘publieke zaak’

China zich langzaam maar zeker openstelt voor de wereld,

en bepleit een aanpak zoals ook IKEA en Ahold in de wereld

zou de bijdrage van Nederlandse stedebouwkundigen, en

ontplooien. China vormt daarbij inderdaad een dankbare

zeker van een wetenschappelijke instelling als de TU-Delft,

afzetmarkt – in dat land is sprake van een lange traditie

zich met name moeten bezighouden met de vraag op welke

van minachting voor de publieke zaak, eeuwenlang in stand

wijze de stedebouw kan bijdragen aan het Chinese publieke

gehouden door afwisselend autoritaire regimes en koloniale

belang. Of ‘copy-paste’ stedebouw hiervoor de beste oplos-

mogendheden. Zandbelt verwijst bij zijn pleidooi voor meer

sing is, waag ik sterk te betwijfelen, evenals het navolgen

Hollandse koopmansgeest naar een aantal voorbeelden van

van IKEA- en Ahold-strategieën. Stedebouw en architectuur

Nederlandse stedebouwkundige projecten (zoals Vondelpark

zijn niet alleen een kwestie van techniek, maar ook van

Amsterdam, Heemraadsingel Rotterdam). Dit zijn echter

cultuur, politiek en ethiek. Ashok Bhalotra lijkt zich dat

juist projecten waarbij private opdrachtgevers weliswaar

beter bewust te zijn, gezien zijn uitspraken in hetzelfde

in meer of mindere mate een rol hebben gespeeld, maar

Atlantis-nummer. Hij waarschuwt tegen cultureel provin-

waar tegelijk ook sprake was van een sterke relatie met

cialisme, de hele wereld is ons speelveld. Toch maakt ook

het publieke belang.

hij niet duidelijk hoe je nu juist met culturele en politieke verschillen omgaat. Met betrekking tot China heeft Rem

Het is ontegenzeglijk waar dat er tegenwoordig sprake is

Koolhaas daar recent iets over gezegd. Naar aanleiding van

van een veranderende verhouding tussen overheid en markt,

de opdracht aan OMA voor het ontwerp van de studio van

en dat we in een tijdperk van globalisering leven. Dat wil

Chinese staats-TV hebben Koolhaas en zijn medewerkers

echter niet zeggen dat daarmee de betekenis van stedebouw

uitvoerig afgewogen welke mogelijke consequenties deze

als ‘publieke zaak’ per definitie ten einde is. Ook in vroegere

TV-zender op de lange termijn voor de ontwikkeling van

tijden was er sprake van een beperkte rol van de overheid

een open Chinese samenleving zou hebben. Hun afweging

maar was er wel degelijk sprake van een breed besef en

leidde uiteindelijk tot aanvaarding van de opdracht – maar

debat over de stad als publieke zaak. Vanaf de Renaissance

het getuigt wel van verantwoordelijkheidsgevoel.

tot de huidige tijd is dat besef altijd een essentiële drijfveer

28

bij de ontwikkeling van de Europese stad geweest, ook van

In het redactioneel van het vorige Atlantis-nummer kondigt

de Hollandse stad: het besef van de stad als een publiek

de redactie aan in de diepte te willen gaan. Dat lijkt me bij

belang, en van stedebouw als een publieke zaak. Wat dat

dit soort vraagstukken inderdaad broodnodig en dat lijkt

publieke belang precies is, hoe je dat kunt definiëren en

me ook bij uitstek de nuttige rol die een blad als Atlantis

in vorm en materiaal omzetten – dat is het terrein van een

– opgezet door gemotiveerde en kritische studenten – zou

aparte discipline geworden, die we ‘stedebouwkunde’ zijn

moeten vervullen. Ik daag Atlantis uit alsnog de daad bij

gaan noemen. In de loop der tijd verandert dat publieke

het woord te voegen.

belang steeds. Hoe dat publieke belang precies verandert,

•

en welke consequenties dat zou moeten hebben voor de

Han Meyer is Hoogleraar Stedebouwkundig Ontwerpen en Voorzitter van de Afdeling Urbanism

Atlantis - april 2006

(advertentie)

.

POLISFONDS voor stedebouw

De oprichting Polis, podium voor stedebouwkunde heeft in 2000 het PolisFonds opgericht tijdens de viering van het tweede lustrum van Polis in het NAi. Het PolisFonds Het PolisFonds is een fonds dat individuele en kleinschalige initiatieven, die voortkomen uit de dagelijkse stedebouwpraktijk of de wetenschap ďŹ nanciert. Dat betekent dat ook initiatieven van buiten Polis een plek krijgen op het podium voor stedebouwkunde. Bij de initiatieven valt te denken aan publicaties, onderzoeken op basis van actuele vraagstukken of tentoonstellingen.

Subsidies worden toegekend aan aanvragen die aansluiten op de doelstellingen van Polis, zoals het stimuleren van het vakgebied stedebouwkunde en het bevorderen van contact en uitwisseling tussen wetenschap en praktijk. Op het podium van Polis zullen de initiatieven hun weerklank vinden in onder andere lezingen, symposia, excursies, studiereizen en de stedebouwweek. Het magazine Atlantis zal een belangrijke en aanvullende rol spelen in het verder uitdragen van de activiteiten mogelijk gemaakt door het PolisFonds Opzet van het PolisFonds De subsidieaanvragen kunnen worden ingediend met behulp van een aanvraagformulier dat verkrijgbaar is bij Polis, Podium voor stedebouwkunde. Een commissie, bestaande uit mensen met verschillende stedebouwkundige invalshoeken, beoordeelt de aanvragen. Deze commissie verandert jaarlijks van samenstelling maar heeft een vaste opbouw qua discipline.

- een bestuurslid van het algemeen bestuur van Polis, Anthony Fuchs (vice-voorzitter Polis) - een stedebouwkundige uit het onderwijs, Miranda Reitsma (redactie tijdschrift Stedenbouw en Ruimtelijke Ordening) - een projectontwikkelaar, Thom Wolf (adjunct-directeur Dura Vermeer Amsterdam) - een overheidsstedebouwkundige, Maarten Schmitt (stadsstedebouwer gemeente Den Haag) - een bureaustedebouwkundige, Roy Bijhouwer (stedebouwkundige Quadrat, atelier voor stedebouw, architectuur en landschap, Rotterdam)

Het PolisFonds ondersteunen!

Polis heeft een klein startkapitaal vrij kunnen maken voor het PolisFonds. Dit is slechts het begin!

Wil het PolisFonds succesvol zijn, dan is uiteraard ook uw donatie noodzakelijk! Als het mede mogelijk maken van kleinschalige stedebouwkundige initiatieven u aanspreekt, dan kunt u een bijdrage overmaken op girorekeningnummer 8522358 o.v.v. PolisFonds.

Hiermee zal een vakinhoudelijke verdieping en verbreding tot stand gebracht kunnen worden zowel binnen de wetenschap als de praktijk.

april 2006 - Atlantis

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One thinks of the opening line to Star Trek when thinking of Los Angeles: “Space, the final Frontier.”

This city is the home of Hollywood, after all. But a funny thing happens when you arrive in LA, and go to Hollywood. You realize that it isn’t really there. Hollywood is a fantasy of a place, not an actual locale.

Los Angeles functions like this as a whole. It is vast, and endless entropic landscape with no center, just street after street that bleed together to create a place derived out of the order of a grid that sprawls it’s way endlessly over almost 1300 km2, inhabited by around 13 million people.

And still, Los Angeles as a city is not at all compact as Paris or Berlin but a generic repetition of two story suburban housing, without a centre, without a core, that is, with a couple of exceptions, defined by the main avenues and boulevards that create some kind of super-block which provides all the necessary functions for the city to work in its periphery.

LA is not one city. It is many, commingling into this agglomeration of the metropolitan area of Los Angeles, all built around the car being interconnected by a completely overloaded system of ‘freeways’ that meander their ways through the landscape and on which avalanches of sheet-metal crawl their way through the city during the peak times of the day, leaving a tale of yellow haze in the air. The entire city is constructed around this infrastructure that carries 12 million cars.

Photo Report

Los Angeles Peter Rieff Mecky Reuss

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Public space as perceived from a European pedestrian perspective is almost inexistent since there is a lack of an in-between that gets negotiated by the car and because a privatization of architectural public realm that leads to what Mike Davis describes as “Fortress L.A.”, a highly on exclusion and inclusion focused way of how the city is constructed throughout its contemporary history. The only inhabitants of the city that make use and form public space, although in almost a surreal juxtaposition of a privatization within the public space, are the 200.000 people without a home over the course of the year.

“The city of angels” is everything people tell you about and everything they don’t, ever changing slightly conform its ephemeral title and following Star Trek into the uncertainty of the future.

Peter is enrolled in the Master program at the TU Delft, Mecky finished his Bachelor at the TU Delft and returned to L.A. to work for an artist.

The pictures are taken during our fall 2005 exchange with SCI-Arc.

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The endless urban grid landscape

Southern California Institute of Architecture, SCI-Arc

Smog above the city of Los Angeles

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Redondo Beach

Protest against the war in Iraq, Santa Monica

Calvary Cemetery, Boyle Heights

Broadway, downtown L.A.

Horse racing track, Santa Anita

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View from Mullholland drive

Interstate 110 meandering through the grid

Ocean Avenue, Santa Monica

Downtown trafďŹ c

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Waterplein

Landschappelijke transformaties als drager voor stedelijke ontwikkeling Afstudeerproject Vivian Hofstede Landschappelijke transformatie Hoge rivierafvoeren brengen grotere wateructuaties met zich mee, waardoor grootschalige ingrepen de beleving van het water doen afnemen. De Merwede wordt gevoed door de Waal, de centrale rivier in het Nederlandse rivierengebied. Als er in dit gebied geen grote transformaties plaatsvinden, zal de rivier in de huidige situatie en vorm grote problemen geven.

De Drechtsteden zullen hiervan desastreuze hinder ondervinden. De Drechtsteden bestaan uit een binnendijkse en bewoonde buitendijkse gebieden.

De historische stad Dordrecht bevindt zich in het buitendijkse gebied en is een waardevol element in het deltalandschap. Het is van belang maatregelen te treffen die het waterpeil verlagen nabij het knoop-

Drechtsteden in de internationale delta van de 14e eeuw

Nederland, de lage landen, een druk bewoont land in de delta van Europa’s belangrijkste rivieren, is bekend om de manier van het beheersen van het water. De steden aan de rivier zijn onlosmakelijke met elkaar verbonden en zijn ook constant in ontwikkeling. Door waterstaatkundige ingrepen is de bewegingsruimte van de rivier beperkt geworden. De rivieren kunnen dan ook de voorspelde hoge rivierafvoeren voor de toekomst niet verwerken, wat tot grote problemen leidt in de steden aan de rivieren. In het verleden zijn de dijken opgehoogd, maar hebben de steden de relatie en beleving met het rivierwater verloren. Zo ook in de Drechtsteden, een gebied onder de rook van Rotterdam, dat zich bevindt op een knooppunt van drie rivieren. De locatie is een dicht bevolkt gebied op de grens van de Randstad dat tot op de oevers van de rivieren de Merwede, Noord en Oude Maas bewoond wordt. Uitbreiding van de rivierbedding en andere gangbare oplossingen voor de waterproblematiek grijpt hier direct in op de stad en draagt in dit gebied niet bij aan een veiliger milieu. Juist deze locatie in de dynamische delta kan tot andere en verrassender ingrepen leiden dan men zou verwachten, om de hoge afvoeren te kunnen verwerken. De dynamiek van de rivier kan bijdragen aan de beleving van de stad in de delta. Hierdoor wordt een eigen identiteit gecreÍerd waardoor de Drechtsteden een echte plek op regionaal niveau zal zijn en niet de grens van de Randstad.

punt van de rivieren bij de Drechtstad om deze stad in ere te laten. Alleen dijkverhoging of verbreding van de rivierbedding draagt niet bij aan het verlagen van het waterpeil in de Drechtstad. Een groene rivier of bypass in het binnendijkse gebied kan worden ingezet

Bypass Dordrecht

Huidige situatie

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Melbourne

Dordrecht

als verbreding van het stroomgebied. Gedurende de piekafvoeren kan het water via een lage inlaatdijk in deze ‘droge’ rivier stromen zodat het waterpeil nabij Drechtstad niet extreme hoogten aanneemt.

Deze grote landschaptransformatie draagt bij aan het behoud en ontwikkeling van bestaande rivierstad Drechtstad. Ophoging van dijken is dan niet meer aan de orde doordat de voortdurende dreiging van hoge rivierwaterstanden verleden tijd is. Het bestaande stads waterfront van Dordrecht blijft in al haar glorie behouden. Maar ook de andere steden, Zwijndrecht en Papendrecht, kunnen door deze transformatie een stads waterfront ontwikkelen dat past bij de ontwikkeling van de steden. De relatie tussen de steden en de rivier wordt hiermee versterkt. De steden van de Drechtstad vormen nu met het water van de rivier een samenhangende Drechtstad waar de delta in de stedelijke dynamiek te beleven is.

Waterbelang Het belang van het water is in de Drechtsteden altijd aanwezig geweest. De havens hebben voor grote infrastructurele ontwikkeling gezorgd in de steden.

Toch is ook door deze verschillende ontwikkelingen de verwevenheid van de steden met de rivier verloren gegaan, waardoor de steden als versnipperde kernen in het deltalandschap liggen. Ze zijn gericht

Kopenhagen

Amsterdam

op een regionaal schaalniveau in plaats van een lokaal schaalniveau. De Drechtsteden zijn goed ontsloten met spoorverbindingen, snelwegen en waterwegen, maar op lokaal niveau zijn er nauwelijks verbindingen. Door juist een lokaal netwerk te vormen kunnen steden profiteren van de kwaliteiten van elkaar en zich dusdanig onderscheiden van de omliggende regio’s. Het benutten van de ligging aan de grote rivieren kan dit netwerk verstreken door het water als publiek domein te laten fungeren van de samenwerkende netwerkstad. Gezien de complexiteit van de ruimtelijk opgave moeten deze nieuwe ontwikkelingen in nauwe relatie staan met de natuurlijke vormgeving van het gebied. Een herontdekking van de morfologische en hydrologische dynamiek van de rivieren maakt het dan mogelijk de rivierdynamiek beter te ervaren.

Publiek domein Het waterlandschap van de rivier wordt toegankelijk door de stad aan de rivier. Juist het verschil tussen de intimiteit van de stad en de weidsheid van de rivier dragen bij aan de beleving van het waterlandschap.

De stad en het stedelijk leven manifesteert zich in de openbare ruimte van de stad. Wie een stad dan ook wil leren kennen, moet zich begeven in deze openbare ruimte. De ultieme waterbeleving van een

3 dimensionale voorstelling van het ontwerp

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stad vindt dan ook plaats in de openbare ruimte, waardoor het water onderdeel gaat uitmaken van het publieke domein van de stad. Openbare ruimte zijn alle openbare delen van de stad zoals wegen, pleinen, kaden, openbare gebouwen. Een publiek domein is een openbare ruimte waar diverse onvoorspelbare ontmoetingen tussen verschillende mensen kunnen plaatsvinden.

WATERPLEIN onderdeel van weefsel van publieke ruimte in de steden

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Het publieke domein in deze ‘nieuwe’ netwerksteden moet door de veranderende samenleving en de manier van gebruik niet een uitgesproken geprogrammeerde functie krijgen. De plek, de genius loci, is bepalend voor de sfeer en de functie die daaruit voort vloeit. De mens wil namelijk zelf de vrijheid hebben om keuzes te maken van verblijfslocatie en manier van ‘beweging’. Pas dan is er een dynamische meervoudige publieke ruimte ontstaan waar iedereen van gebruik maakt en die voortbouwt op de culturele betekenissen van de openbare ruimte van de stad en tevens mogelijkheden schept voor nieuwe ontmoetingen en vormen van stedelijk gebruik in het stedelijk netwerk. De openbare ruimte is dan opgenomen en verweven met het stedelijk netwerk en dynamiek van de stad en vormt een dynamisch publiek domein.

De wegen (infrastructuur) maken ook onderdeel uit van deze openbare ruimte. Ze vormen onderdeel van verschillende plekken die diverse ontmoetingen kunnen ‘veroorzaken’ en vormen daardoor een aantrekkelijke verblijfsfunctie. Het water van de rivier is ook een belangrijke infrastructuur en in die zin ook onderdeel van de publieke ruimte en helemaal als onderdeel van de Drechtstad. Juist deze verweving

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van verschillende publieke ruimten koppelt de verschillende steden aan elkaar. Ook al hebben ze een andere ontstaansgeschiedenis en ruimtelijk vormgeving. Juist dat geeft de diversiteit, dat wenselijk is voor het openbare domein. De openbare ruimte en de infrastructuur vormen samen het verbindende netwerk waar wat te beleven valt!

Waterplein In dit plan WATERPLEIN is de publieke ruimte de drager van de nieuwe netwerkstad. Deze publieke ruimte krijgt betekenis wanneer het verbonden is met de authenticiteit van de locatie en verweven is met het stedelijk weefsel. Het Hollandse landschap is inspiratiebron geweest voor het bepalen van de verschillende specifieke genius loci in het ontwerp.

De kenmerkende karakteristieke waarden van het getijdenlandschap zijn de basis geweest voor het vormen van het land. De ontginningen van het land door afvoeren van water, is de basis van de stedelijke structurering in voornamelijk binnendijkse gebieden.

In de steden van de Drechtstad is er een verschillende manier van ontginnen toegepast door de verschillende morfologische ondergronden. De steden hebben daardoor ook een eigen karakteristieke structuur. In het ontwerp is er een transformatie van het buitendijkse gebied ingezet om de beleving van de rivier in de delta te versterken. Dit nieuwe landschap schept condities voor nieuwe ruimtelijke kwaliteiten van de nieuwe netwerkstad. Dit nieuwe landschap is de basis van een Drechtstad, waarbij het rivierwater en specifiek ter plaatse van het drierivieren knooppunt als een publiek domein fungeert. Onderlinge verbindingen tussen de steden dienen goed aan te sluiten op het bestaande stadsweefsel, maar ook op dit nieuwe landschap. Deze verbindingen zijn dan een gezamenlijke openbare ruimte geworden van en tussen de steden. Gekoppeld aan deze openbare ruimte van verbindingen zijn plekken die de beleving van de rivier in het deltalandschap vergroten. Op deze plekken is er een grote mate van uitwisseling van verschillende groepen mensen. Deze plekken zijn onderdeel van het publieke domein geworden waarbij het WATERPLEIN de belangrijkste publieke ruimte is geworden van de Drechtstad. Doordat het publieke domein onderdeel is van het stedelijk weefsel en dynamiek kunnen de ruimtes anticiperen op de behoefte van de gebruiker. Een vast programma van de openbare ruimte past niet in dit publiek domein. Het programma kan dan een tijdelijke vorm aan nemen en anticiperen op de behoefte van de gebruiker. De verschillende ruimtes en plekken van het publieke domein creëren de mogelijkheid voor een bepaald gebruik.

WATERPLEIN

Waterplein met zicht op Dordrecht

Het WATERPLEIN heeft verschillende wanden die gevormd worden door de drie omliggende steden op de splitsing van de drie rivieren de Noord, Merwede en de Oude Maas. Ze vormen een samenhang door verscheidenheid die wordt benadrukt door architectonische elementen die de plek in het landschap versterken. De verschillende publieke domeinen om het plein hebben een aantrekkende werking op elkaar dat wordt versterkt door nieuwe verbindingen in de vorm van een brug, waterbussen en watertaxi’s.

Het WATERPLEIN wordt omring door twee nieuwe buitendijkse gebieden die de generator zijn van de nieuwe openbare ruimte van de Drechtstad, passend bij de karakteristieke identiteit van de verschillende steden. Ze benadrukken het type stadsweefsel en daarmee de verschillende ontstaansgeschiedenis.

De bestaande historische binnenstad van Dordrecht is aan het WATERPLEIN gelegen. De binnenstad heeft een geheel eigen, unieke relatie met het water omdat het onderdeel uitmaakt van het deltalandschap. Deze balans tussen water en land in de stad is een grote inspiratiebron geweest. De nieuw ontworpen buitendijkse gebieden zijn geen letterlijke vertaling van de steden, maar hebben een heldere relatie met het ontstaan van de steden, waardoor ze onderdeel uitmaken van het publieke domein van de netwerkstad. De huidige buitendijkse gebieden nabij Zwijndrecht worden omgevormd tot een aantal eilanden. Dit benadrukt de structuur van een archipel, het landschap dat ooit als basis diende voor het huidige vormgegeven deltalandschap en dat nog duidelijk is de herkennen in het stedelijk weefsel van Zwijndrecht. Een aantal buitendijkse polders,zoals de Sophiapolder, worden de dijken doorgestoken en gaan het symbool vormen van het oude en nieuwe deltalandschap met een geulen en kreken systemen.

Het gebied zal deel uitmaken van de Biesbosch-gebieden in de regio.Ten opzichte van de rivieren heeft dit gebied een minder weids karkater en minder contrasten, juist de voortdurende en zichtbare verandering van water en land maakt de beleving van de delta duidelijk. Het gebied zal voornamelijk bestaand uit grassen, riet en wilgenbossen(grienden). Een ander buitendijkse landschap is opgebouwd uit dijken die een waterkerende functie hebben. Het buitendijks gebied van Papendrecht krijgt dat speciďŹ eke karakter mee. De gebieden binnen de dijken zijn opgehoogd of zijn een polder. Vanaf de polder is het rivierwater niet waarneembaar, vanwege haar omsloten karkater en lagere ligging. Vanaf de dijk en opgehoogde gebieden is de rivier wel waar te nemen. Het park en de binnenhaven zijn opgenomen in het grid structuur van het stadsweefsel van Papendrecht. De maat en schaal van de buitendijkse openbare ruimte van het park en de haven zijn groter dan de binnendijkse openbare ruimten. De buitendijkse openbare ruimte hebben deze grote maat omdat ze de authenticiteit van de plek benadrukken.

In het totale ontwerp worden de oevers verschillend uitgevoerd. Flauw hellende oevers, dijken of rechte kaden benadrukken de verschillende delen rondom het WATERPLEIN. De oevers stralen nu een eigen identiteit uit die te vergelijken is met de verschillende identiteiten van de steden. Ook de dynamiek van het water wordt anders beleeft door de verschillende oevers. De oevers van de buitendijkse gebieden worden op verschillende manier verbonden aan

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elkaar. Zo zijn er verschillende publieke en private waterverbindingen mogelijk tussen de gebieden in de vorm van waterbussen, watertaxi’s of recreatie zeil en motorboten. De vaste verbindingen worden gerealiseerd in de vorm van bruggen. Deze bruggen dienen natuurlijk een verkeersfunctie, maar door de vorm en hoogte van de brug kunnen ze ook dienen als een verblijfsplek in de vorm van een balkon.

Het WATERPLEIN vormt het hart van het plan. Alle onderdelen zijn daaromheen gegroepeerd. Ook de nieuwe openbare ruime, de nieuwe infrastructuur en waterverbindingen zijn onderdelen van dit plein, waardoor het een verassende dynamiek genereert.

Fietsers, voetgangers, pleziervaart, binnenvaarders en andere beroepsvaarders zijn de gebruikers van het plein. Door de verschillende karakteristieken uit de steden te gebruiken in de nieuwe buitendijkse gebieden, kennen de gebieden veel verschillende sferen, die allemaal voortborduren op de unieke ligging aan het water van ’s werelds drukst bevaren rivier!

Netwerkstad te water Grootschalige transformaties in het landschap zijn generator voor nieuwe stedelijke ontwikkelingen.

Door de grote transformatie van het landschap ontstaat er op lokaal niveau een samenhangende Drechtstad. Door deze ontwikkelingen is de Drechtstad de 7e stad van Nederland geworden. De Drechtstad is een duidelijker onderdeel geworden in de regio door de huidige ligging en ontwikkeling in het regionale netwerk. Het neemt door vooruit-

Drechtsteden.

De 7e stad van Nederland

strevende ontwikkelingen een stevige positie in, als schakel tussen de zuidvleugel en de Brabantse stedenreeks. De netwerkstad de Drechtstad heeft de openbare ruimte als de belangrijkste drager van de samenhang, centraal staan. Deze wordt gevormd door de grootschalige transformatie in het buitendijkse gebied, gevolgd door stedelijke ontwikkelingen. De Drechtstad is weer een belangrijke stad in de delta geworden, waar het water een structurerende rol speelt.

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Vivian Hofstede studeerde af in november 2005 in het afstudeerlab Delta Design. Haar mentorenteam bestond uit Ir. Inge Bobbink, Ir. Willem Hermans en prof.Ir. Han Meyer. Vivian is nu werkzaam bij een stedebouwkundig en landschapsbureau, CH & Partners in Den Haag.

Waterplein met zicht op Papendrecht en de nieuwe buitendijkse gebieden

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VIA VINEX

Via Vinex is een fototentoonstelling bedacht door doks stedebouw. De tentoonstelling is mogelijk gemaakt met subsidie van PolisFonds voor stedebouwkunde, en Bouwfonds MAB Ontwikkeling.

Via Vinex

fototentoonstelling: straatbeeld van 10 jaar Vinex 1 t/m 18 mei, Blokkenhal faculteit Bouwkunde TU Delft

2005 was oorspronkelijk gepland als het laatste jaar van de Vinex-operatie. De Vierde Nota Ruimtelijke Ordening Extra kondigde in 1993 de grootste huisvestingsoperatie aan sinds de Wederopbouw. Ruim 600.000 nieuwe woningen op 26 locaties moesten er gebouwd worden tussen 1995 en 2005, waarvan een derde deel in bestaand stedelijk gebied maar het grootste deel op uitleglocaties.

In de afgelopen jaren is er met name op deze uitleglocaties kritiek geweest dat ze vlees noch vis zijn: niet stedelijk en niet landelijk. Volgens critici staan er louter dezelfde eengezinswoningen waarvan de kwaliteit ver te zoeken is: de Vinex-locaties zijn te eenvormig en te monofunctioneel. Daartegenover was er soms juist ook waardering te horen voor de (landschappelijke) differentiatie en de opzet van enkele wijken. De bewoners zelf blijken vaak tevreden over hun ruime eengezinswoning met tuin op een locatie nabij de stad.

Hoewel de planning van de Vinex is uitgelopen, kan nu wel de balans worden opgemaakt. De eerste woningen zijn inmiddels 10 jaar oud, de meeste

Veerse Poort

locaties zijn voor een groot deel al bebouwd. Hebben de critici gelijk en zijn de Vinex-uitleglocaties een uniform keurslijf, of is er juist sprake van een bewoners-paradijs? Bestaat er zoiets als een eenduidige karakteristiek van de Vinex? Wat is het straatbeeld ervan?

Aan de hand van een serie foto’s van verschillende Vinex-locaties, wordt inzicht gegeven in het beeld van de woningen en woonomgeving. De foto’s laten zien welke woningtypes, openbare ruimtes, en sferen worden gebruikt op de diverse locaties. De bezoeker van de tentoonstelling kan zijn eigen oordeel bepalen over de kwaliteit van de Vinex. Hiermee geeft het een aanzet om na te denken over de inrichting van de komende bouwopgave in Nederland.

Bij de tentoonstelling wordt door Episode publishers een publicatie met de foto’s, achtergronden en essays (o.a. Hans Ibelings) uitgegeven. Deze zal rond mei / juni verschijnen.

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informatie: www.doks.nl/viavinex

Ypenburg

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‘Over 18,000 killed in France in August 2003 due to a prolonged heatwave coinciding with a shortage of medical and nursing staff.

Earthquake in Bam, Iran on December 27, 2003 killed more than 26,000 people.

2004 Indian Ocean earthquake. On December 26 an undersea earthquake in the Indian Ocean created a large tsunami, which impacted land across the region and caused approximately 310,000 deaths in Indonesia, Sri Lanka, India, Thailand and other countries in the region.

2004 Hurricanes Charley, Frances, Ivan, and Jeanne batter Florida and the Caribbean in August and September, causing over 3,200 deaths, 3000 of which resulted from Jeanne’s torrential flooding rains in Haiti. The hurricanes caused a combined $50 billion in damage in the United States.

2005 U.S Gulf Coast Hurricane Katrina - The strong Category 3 hurricane with top sustained winds near 127 mph impacts the Gulf Coast, flooding New Orleans in Louisiana, most of Mississippi, Tennessee, and Alabama. The current number of fatalities stands at 1,417. This hurricane surpassed Hurricane Andrew in cost of damage, becoming the costliest natural disaster in U.S history.

Earthquake in Kashmir on October 8, 2005. An earthquake in Kashmir has so far claimed over 80,000 lives in India and Pakistan.

Hurricane Stan 2005 hits on October 2005 the south coast of Mexico and the west coast of Guatemala, causing floods, mudslides that killed 1,620 people bearing all the brunt of the damage Guatemala with 1,500 dead and entire villages swept away by floods and mudslides.’1

Future Cities Ming Ming Ong The memory of recent months recalled the happening of multiple natural disasters resulting lost of lives, homes destroyed and disrupted economies. Not only does it reveal what devastating effects Mother Nature can unleash, it serves to remind that many of these natural catastrophes are unnatural in their origins; global warming, unplanned urbanization to trade liberalization, are examples of man’s contribution to more than frequent occurrence of “natural” disasters. If we fail to act proactively in response to the ailing environment, we may eventually lose control and may bring about natural disasters of greater magnitude.

When founding a city, people judged an area on its fertility, its beauty, its economic position near trade routes and water, underestimating or not knowing the “natural” danger of the place. Yet, after the times of disaster, men choose to return to these sites despite knowing that they lie in nature’s hazardous zone. This reluctance to abandon their disaster prone areas stem from perhaps few very simple yet vital reasons, such as, the economic attraction and the refusal to give up their history or possession. In these areas, the notion of dwelling is no longer sufficient just as a ‘shelter’ from weathers but must now offer protection of lives and possessions. Yet, what are the vital qualities a ‘shell’ must possess in order for it to protect its

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inhabitants against hurricane, floods, tornadoes, fire, earthquakes, indoor contaminants, weather related deterioration, protection from outdoor environment, and at the same time giving sense of security? Is a composition of impact-resistant glass, additional structural braces and supports, special roof material that is wind resistant and a cyclone shelter? What have we learnt from the previous disasters? What we know for sure is, we should not build the same way in these places after a disaster, knowing that it can happen again and everything that is rebuilt will be destroyed. The question is how can we change the shape, location or character of a city to better fit nature’s demands?

While there is need to rebuild the city in the aftermath of a disaster and allow its residents to return quickly, yet, more critical than sheer urgency, urban designers should review the effects of the disaster and come up with suitable proposals or prototypes that prepares the city effectively for the next attack so as to minimize damage and loss. Housing, a major component of the city, shelter of its population, its design is one of the most urgent issue to be readdressed. Different design possibilities of housing prototypes shall be discussed, looking at past examples and future options, to offer alternative insights. Currently, houses are largely static and

FUTURE CITIES

unresponsive. Modern and future materials, technologies and design allow us to create dynamic, evolving places that respond to the complexities of life. Could the new housing prototype be removable and mobile, offering the possibility to be relocated from the its site in face of a disaster; be buoyant or having the capability to become afloat in rising tides; or able to become totally submerged and become immune to the storms?

elements you will find in a functioning city: business quarter, offices, housing, public and private services that could roam the cities. The form derived from a combination of insect and machine and was said to be a literal interpretation of Corbusier’s aphorism of a house as a machine for living in. The pods were independent, yet parasitic as they could ‘plug in’ to other walking element or with the ground and the sea via their extendable arms, allowing the transfer of goods or materials and sometimes the exchange

When a disaster is forecast, man are told to evacuate to safer grounds, leaving behind their houses (which they cannot take with them) to be subjected to the effects of the disaster. Many returned to find their most priced possession destroyed. The proposition for a mobile house, seek to secure the lives of its inhabitants and their possessions, by relocating them from the site of danger, and return them to its original location when it is safe without harm. In 1960s and early 1970s, Archigram, a group of experimental British architects comprising Peter Cook, Warren Chalk, Dennis Crompton, David Greene, Ron Herron and Mike Webb have collectively, they produced theoretical and imaginary architectural projects such as The Plug-in City, The Walking City, Underwater City and The Suitaloon which is a wearable house or a garment which converts into a dwelling as a possible temporal housing solution. Their works drew inspirations from high technology and pop culture, design nomadic alternative to traditional way of living, offering insights to making of mobile cities.

Plug-in City, Peter Cook

Walking City, Ron Herron

The Plug-in City, using metal cabin housing or habitable cell as a prototype, is a mega-structure with no buildings but just a massive framework, containing access ways and essential services to any terrain, to which these cell dwellings could be slotted into.

These units are served and maneuvered by means of cranes operating from rail way at the apex of the structure. The interior contains several electronic and machine installations intended to replace present day-operations. Theses detachable spatial cells could be of various use types such as residential, offices or stores. Hypothetically, if such a mega-structure is situated in a hazardous zone, their habited cells can be ‘unplug’ from its locale and be transposed to another mega-structure where it will be safe prior a hurricane attack and be returned to its original position when the danger is over.

Plug-in City core, Alain Bublex

Walking City, unlike Plug- in City, is a world capital capable of being anywhere in the world at any time.

It is constituted by intelligent buildings or robots that are in the form of giants, containing all the

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occupants. The context of which the Walking Cities exists was perceived as a future ruined world in the aftermath of a nuclear war. Yet, could these not be applicable now?

These fanciful ideas never left the pages of Archigram. They remained in their experimental form and have been dismissed as Utopian. And, perhaps, it is still perceived as seemingly irrelevant and unachievable in present day. However, Alain Bublex, a less known figure of Archigram, inspired by the concept of Plug-in City of Peter Cook, has began his exploration in year 2000 to put to test the idea of Plug in City with modular, transitory homes in place of ‘habitable cells’. His large scale urban landscapes show how Plug-In is no longer some utopian vision, but a reality that already exists. At times the artist uses ordinary photographs, at others he digitally reworks them, and stitching computer generated images and photographs of real buildings to illustrate the working of the ideas.

Illustration of The Sea Orbiter, Jacques Rougrie

so that it will float when the water set in? Could they submersible or become totally submerged?

As early as 1960s, Architects have began adopted technologies from the exploration, fishing, military and mining industries towards solving threats to human existence, hoping to find an alternative environment where man can survive. Among others, French architect Jacques Rougerie, inspired by Jacques-Yves Cousteau’s underwater explorations, investigated and developed exceptionally diverse ideas of submarine inhabitable spaces. His proposals, coupled with proposals for structures to support

If the only way to escape the tragedy of a disaster is to evacuate the site, could we bring our city with us? Could the displaced houses anchor temporarily on flat roofs of a distant neighboring city?

One of the major concerns of nature’s disaster is rising sea level or flood water. A relatively small increase in sea level would make some coastal plains uninhabitable and result in a significant refugee problem. If the sea level were to rise in excess of 4 metres almost every coastal city in the world would be severely affected, with the potential for major impacts on world-wide trade and economy. Presently, it is predicted a sea level rise of less than 1 meter through 2100, but the effects of global warming may lead to irreversible changes in the Earth’s glacial system and ultimately melt enough ice to raise sea level many meters over the next millennia2. In face of danger of rising tide and yet we cannot or do not want to abandon these coastal regions, what form or character should the new architecture assume? Do we begin to suspended the buildings higher above flood level and raise them upon concrete core like off shore rigs? But how high is high enough? Or could the building be anchored but fitted with a pontoon base

Underwater village, Jacques Rougerie

Hydropolis, Underwater Hotel In order to enter this surreal space, visitors will begin at the land station. This 120m woven, semicircular cylinder will arch over a multi-storey building.

research and human establishment in underwater medium, put to test the reality of underwater habitat. Examples of Jacques Rougerie’s earlier underwater proposals are, such as, The underwater house Galathee, Hippocampe, The vessel Aqua space I, and the National Center of sea Nausicca. Among which, the underwater village, is a proposed training center of the cosmonauts, adapted to the study and the marine stock management by the breeding of fauna and the culture of the underwater flora. One of Jacques Rougerie’s recent proposals is The Sea Orbiter. This seahorse-shaped buoy is designed to drift

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FUTURE CITIES

around the oceans studying life beneath the waves.

The 51m structure, set to launch in year 2008, will travel the seas collecting data from both above and below the water for marine and climatic studies. The structure, two thirds of which will be submerged, will house a team of 18, whose first mission will be to study Gulf Stream currents. Jacques Rougerie’s proposals for habitats, villages, and ‘cities’ under and in the sea are insightful yet forgotten aspect of architectural production in the 1970s. Rougerie view the sea as no longer an impenetrable region but a realm that should be considered as a ‘6th continent’ available for settlement. He saw that both the continental shelves and ocean floors and the sea volume have a topography and geography, which offered a possible opportunity. His projects were forerunner prototypes raising questions about possibility of living underwater. This idea of an underwater habitat is now about to be first realized by United Arab Emirate; they are currently constructing Hydropolis, an underwater hotel in Dubai, scheduled to open at the end of year 2007.

With advancement of materials, technologies and knowledge, could not the next city be built and equipped self-sufficiently to become totally submerged in water?

No place is more concerned with rising water level than the Netherlands where people have lived on the edge of water-borne disaster for centuries. In fact, about a quarter of this country is land reclaimed from the sea, and half of it lies at or below sea level. The Rotterdam 2nd international Architecture Biennale in 2006 titled ‘The Flood’ saw the country’s concerns and its vulnerability to rising water levels. The Biennale exhibited proposals such as housing proposal built on sponge like synthetic riverbanks capable of absorbing flood waters and a floating soccer stadium.

“Since World War II, the Dutch have relied on technology for protection from the rivers and the sea,” said Adriaan Geuze, a landscape architect and the chief curator of the biennale. “We are convinced that this is not a clever way to deal with reality, and three months after the exhibition closed, Katrina showed us the truth of that.” In order to survive the tides, man have to either stay float and remain buoyant, or be able to survive under water.

is said not limit the size of the platform and is simple enough to be applicable to other similarly affected marine context.

Ooms Bouwmaatschappij, another construction company, recognizing the growing scarcity of building ground in the Netherlands, has also started building houses floating on water. These houses, made of wood and lightweight aluminum, are linked to each other by walkways but can be detached from the surrounding neighborhood and individually moved by tugboats. These floating designs, have not only addressed the lack of land, they have also resolve the issue of the rising water level. Could these examples not be a possible housing prototype for all coastal development?

Men have now acquired the technology and ability to preempt a natural disaster. It is also understood that the only way to survive one is to evacuate the disaster zone totally. While lives can be saved, the rooted city infrastructure and buildings are inevitably subject to destruction. Different disaster zones will need to implement site specific strategies in preparation for future attack. The redesign of these cities should ultimately ensure that they are capable to receive the impact of the disaster or perhaps to be totally mobile so that they can be transported away from the affected site.

• 1

Wikipedia

2

Sea level rise, Wikipedia.

‘Ming Ming Ong received her architectural degree at National University of Singapore and The Bartlett, University College London between 1993 to 1999 and is currently practising in The United States, New York. She has diverse professional experience in the design of various building types, including commercial offices and retail, residential, institutional, urban design and master planning. Ming Ming believes that each project is unique, and the design or form of a project should evolve out of their particular characteristics and programmatic demands. The challenge in every project is to arrive at an elegant design proposal through creative design processes, appropriate investigation strategies and imaginative problem solving.’

On a large scale, Dura Vermeer, a Dutch construction company who envisioned the future of the city as floating homes, floating offices and floating restaurants, is currently test building 900 square meters of floating greenhouses on platforms made of polystyrene slabs that are locked together and then overlain with concrete. This method of construction

Floating Green House, Dura Vermeer

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Construction is destruction Column Abhijit Mandrekar

Jane carefully placed the jewellery inside the cupboard and made sure that the door was closed properly. She had obtained these ornament- pieces from her grandmother who had received them from her great grandmother. Actually nobody knew the origin of the jewellery collection except that it was priceless and nobody ever in her family would part with it willingly.

Marc, her husband, was a real-estate broker and a developer and was dealing in large sums of money every day. Their five years of marriage had settled down into a deep friendship that superseded the love for each other from which the marriage had sprung.

Real estate was a risky business now-a-days. It was easier a few years ago when the world was not shadowed by the dark clouds of war. The society patterns were changing and so was the taste of people. The world culture was suddenly unclear and the values and the migration patterns of people have become unpredictable.

This made it difficult to formulate the choice of the building programmes. For the first time in his life he did not know what kind of buildings or housing to offer to people, what would sell.

The war, such as in the past, like the Second World War had made certain economies flourish. Immediately after the war, the American economy prospered to become one of the most growing economies of the world, - the culture of sex drugs and rock and roll.

The birth of the, so called, American dream. Funny!

Thought Marc, come to think of it, every time America had been in the war their economy seemed to have flourished,- early 50’s after the Second World War, mid seventies after the Vietnam war- and then the trend followed,- Nicaragua, Cuba, Somalia, Sudan, Angola, Yugoslavia, Afghanistan and as for

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now Iraq. Each time America was in the war their economy grew. Destruction is the foundation for construction. Marc’s thoughts were racing rapidly. The society has changed. The folk culture has changed.

The folk dances involving many people dancing hand in hand had disappeared. They were replaced by the English waltz in the Victorian period and then to the quick-step involving only two people and today there is Disco dancing,- a solo performance involving only one person. This was also the case in terms of the types of housing. The great mansions offering protection to joint families vanished at the down of the last century. Separate houses immerged giving shelter to one family. And now that the percentage of divorces is reaching staggering heights, he thought there is much demand for individual houses, -households for one person. The same is the case with the developments in digital technology. All professions are based on isolating people. He has to come up with more creative forms of housing he thought.

Perhaps, instead of catering to the needs of society and satisfying its demands if he could formulate a special programme for a house maybe he could change society. He would then be standing at the beginning of a tradition instead of at the end of one. But it would require some research. And for the research, needless to say - money.

He was not like his counterparts. They were involved in making money in not the right way. Suddenly a news-column would appear in the local papers about a building in the city being blown up by an anonymous evil doer who seemed to have disappeared without a trace. The plot, full of debris and dust was bought by a “philanthropic” project developer for a nickel and a dime and was being developed by him like a living monument. And living in a monument costs a lot of money. Marc knew who was behind the explosion but

COLUMN

he never said anything. Are all the attacks occurring on the important buildings, tube stations, railway stations, commercial complexes and business centres of the world fake? Or are the developers working close and hand in hand with the terrorist organisations of the world on a percentage basis?

No construction without destruction.

He shivered at the thought. What would or would not money make people do? He did not want to be indulged in such practices. He was called an honest fool by his fellow counterparts.

The city centres are being revitalised in almost every country. Buildings are being demolished only to be built again. This has been going on since the beginning of the world. Some sensitive City-Governments preserved even the large parts of the cities directly like objects in a showcase. But then they would never enjoy the eve of the buildings and miss out on the beautiful aspects like - the ruins. Society should decide the future use of the buildings and not the Governing bodies. The outer shell does not matter anyway. If a building is partly demolished then the other part is fixed to it like an Architects dream, a sort of contemporary ulcer justifying the philosophical explanation of the Architect’s Design.

Or it is restored to its original state without taking into account the period in which it existed. They do not realise that people do not use horses or carriages anymore, but cars, and that the building, the way it is born should die a natural death. One does not preserve one’s father in a preservation- box because he appears to be at his best at the age of 50. Does one?

But destruction is construction. The Americans have proven it; many times.

And will prove it many times again in the coming years. The shadow of the war on Iran is already in the air. Destruction of Iran- construction of Iran. The American economy…….

Since the evolution of the humans, the skin of the Earth has changed several times.

So many changes and so many restructurings. The East is booming now. China and India and maybe in the later phase Thailand and Malaysia and then perhaps Cambodia and Vietnam and Indonesia….....

The rich cultural heritages of the East will be the things of the past. To be replaced by the new ones.

Or will they? He should do something about it. Should he invest money in the East? Or be a step ahead and invest in South America? It is sure to come one day.

He knew. But just the same it would never solve the problem he was in now. Not directly. He had suffered a major set back in his last investment. He has lost everything. He had bought an old part of

the city that he thought would be demolished to be revitalised. And then he could make profit. But he was unfortunate. The bill was passed that he may never build anything there in the future and the whole place turned out to be an Archaeological site.

He had to sell it at a tremendous loss. Today was the decisive day. He had to sign the contract to sell his house to pay the debts. But this would not be enough.

He would have to sell his greatest possession;- his family house at the edge of the river. A developer was persuading him to sell it for years. He wanted to build a hotel there. And now that he knew that Marc was in a tight spot, he was hovering over him like a vulture ready for the kill. He had already hired a demolition squad that was waiting outside the plot knowing that Marc would sell.

He signed.

He saw the massive metal ball hanging at the end of a gigantic crane hit the part where the study-room had been. He saw it go through the large play-room where he had spent beautiful moments of his childhood. With misty eyes and heavy steps he turned around and walked towards his house. Although he had not told her he knew that Jane knew that he was in trouble. He came to a shop where Jane had seen a beautiful but very expensive box for her jewellery.

At his request the developer had agreed to pay him some cash as a token of his goodwill. Jane would love it; the last gift! At least she can save her traditional jewellery, - her greatest possession.

As she opened the door he gave her the box. Instead of being overjoyed she started to tremble.

With great difficulty she told him,“I sold the jewellery collection so that you could keep your family house”.

•

Abhijit Mandrekar, born on march 3rd, 1961 in Bombay, India, earned his bachelors degree in Architecture at the university of Bombay and his building engineer degree at the TU Delft. After his graduation he worked on a broad variety of projects, such as interior, housing, industrial and urban projects and was also active as a (architecture) consultant. He has worked in India, Africa and the Netherlands. From 1995 till 2003 Mandrekar has, alongside his many other activities, filled several teaching positions at the TU Delft, ranging from tutor architectonic design to tutor urban/landscape design. In 2003 he was a tutor for Indesem (International Design Seminar). Since 2003 he works as manager architect/urban planner for ArchSpaceM, office for Architecture and Design. He describes himself, among other things, as: “rebellious, travel-addicted, intense, indifferent, attached, involved, vulnerable to all beautiful things, scientific, analytical, critical, superstitious, sentimental, strong-willed, undisciplined and despises manipulative behaviour”.

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Opkomst creatieve economie, einde Zuidvleugel?

Mikel Knippenberg Nu de creatieve economie voelbaar is in Nederland en de eerste ideeën voor creatieve stedebouw ontstaan binnen bepaalde concerns, is er sprake van een fenomeen van een geheel andere orde. Voor het eerst sinds de industriële revoluties in de negentiende eeuw is er sprake van een krimpscenario in bevolkingsgroei. Een onderzoek1 in opdracht van de secretarissen van de Raad voor Verkeer en Waterstaat en van de VROMRaad gedaan door Derks, Hovens en Klinkers beschrijft een structurele bevolkingsdaling. Een politiek van groei zal plaats moeten maken voor een politiek van krimp. Dit alles met het oog op de enorme investeringen die er de komende jaren aan gaan komen in de Noord- en Zuidvleugel van Randstad Holland. Onderstaande beschrijft de opkomst van de creatieve economie en de gepaarde structurele bevolkingsdaling in Nederland.

Wat zijn de gevolgen voor de ruimtelijke ordening en de stedebouw. Waarom nu uitgebreid investeren in zaken die later overbodig blijken te zijn? Met andere woorden: Gaan we bouwen om weer te slopen?

Economie en ruimtelijke ordening Ruimtelijke ordening en stedebouw zijn door de geschiedenis heen steeds de fysieke verschijning geweest van de maatschappij en dus ook van de economie. Elke vorm van economie heeft een fysieke component die nog steeds te herkennen is binnen het stadsweefsel. Bij de landbouw economie etaleerde dat zich in de vorm van markten als plaats van handel. Het leven speelde zich af op het platteland of in de middeleeuwse stad met stadswallen. Tijdens de industriële revolutie ontstond er een groeiende vraag naar ruimte. Kanalen werden gegraven, spoorlijnen aangelegd. De stad legde zich uit met industriegebieden als voornaamste plaats van handel.

Opkomst van de creatieve economie Inmiddels zijn veel steden in het post-industrieel stadium gekomen met industriegebieden in ver-

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val. Uitgebreide herstructureringsplannen voor havengebieden staan hoog op de agenda bij beleidsmakers over de hele wereld. Steden hebben een ring, een tweede ring en soms zelfs een derde. Hogesnelheidslijnen, Airport-, Internet- en Cruisehubs zorgen voor hoogwaardige verbindingen met de rest van de wereld, zowel fysiek als virtueel. Kenmerkend is dat steeds meer functies uit het historisch centrum naar perifere locaties aan de randen zijn getrokken. Steeds meer steden presenteren zich als hoogwaardige regio om maar de beste talenten en arbeidskrachten aan te trekken. Zelfs bedrijven selecteren op basis van beschikbaarheid van talent om zich in een bepaalde stad of regio te vestigen.

De fysieke verschijning van de economie is nog onduidelijk. Moeten er weer markten of industriegebieden komen of iets geheel anders? Duidelijk is dat de creatieve economie geheel haar eigen gang gaat.

Initiatieven van onderaf domineren het spreidingspatroon van de creatieve industrie.

Creatieve economie De creatieve economie onderscheidt zich van andere economieën doordat haar belangrijkste pijler uitgaat van CREATIVITEIT als belangrijkste bron voor vooruitgang. Andere traditionele bronnen als land, werkgelegenheid, kapitaal, kennis en technologie zullen wereldwijd steeds meer evenredig verdeeld zijn. Juist in CREATIVITEIT ligt de – toekomstige – kracht zich te onderscheiden van andere landen, regio’s, steden en organisaties.

Krachten Kenmerkend voor de creatieve economie is dat deze zorgt voor een directe stimulans voor economische groei en daarmee automatisch banen genereert.

De creatieve industrie vestigt zich op plekken waar veel creatieve werkers zijn en vice versa. Beiden zijn afhankelijk van elkaar en versterken elkaar.

Regio’s met veel creatieve kenniswerkers zijn hierdoor juist in het voordeel.

Algemeen Binnen de creatieve economie is een onderverdel-

ing te maken in creatieve ondernemingen, de veelkleurige creatieve industrie; mensen, de zogenaamde creatieve werkers en plekken ofwel creatieve gemeenschappen. Juist de creatieve ondernemingen zijn het makkelijkst traceerbaar en haar spreiding zegt iets over de vestigingsfactoren van de creatieve industrie.

Landbouw economie 1500 AD

Creatieve ondernemingen De creatieve industrie bestaat volgens TNO2 uit: 1) Kunsten 2) Media & Entertainment 3) Creatief zakelijke dienstverlening Deze zijn dan weer onder te verdelen in: 1) Podiumkunsten, scheppende kunsten, dienstverlening voor kunstbeoefening en musea en kunstgalerijen 2) Uitgeverijen, journalistiek, fotografie, film en radio & TV 3) Reclame, interieur- & modeontwerp en architectuur & stedebouw Gezamelijk kenmerk is dat deze bedrijfjes vaak klein zijn en veel onderlinge verbanden kennen.

Verder zijn ze vaak geclusterd in een bedrijfsverzamelgebouw.

Industriële economie 1900 AD

Creatieve hotspots Op plekken waar zowel creatieve werkers en creatieve ondernemingen samenkomen ontstaan vanzelf creatieve hotspots. De kenmerken zijn divers en vallen samen met een spontane functieverandering vanuit de creatieve economie, meestal gepaard met een WOZ-waarde steiging3. De nabijheid van een historische binnenstad gecombineerd met betaalbaarheid kan ook doorslaggevend zijn. Het doelgebied is meestal in verval, er is ruimte voor creativiteit bijvoorbeeld in oude industriële loodsen4. Dit is afhankelijk van de tak waarbinnen het bedrijf zich bevindt in de creatieve industrie.

Reclame bedrijven hebben andere vestigingsfactoren en een ander budget dan jonge beginnende kunstenaars. Voor hen is een locatie aan de ringweg soms interessanter dan een locatie in het hart van een historische kern.

Opkomst van de creatieve economie 2000 AD

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Structurele bevolkingsdaling Volgens het onderzoek van Derks, Hovens en Klinkers zal de eenentwintigste eeuw de overgang van groei naar krimp van de bevolking belichamen. De wereld als geheel rond 2075, in de meeste Europese landen is deze krimp al ingezet. Ook in Nederland is deze krimp sinds 2002 in Limburg al merkbaar.

Belangrijkste oorzaak Als belangrijkste oorzaak van de daling noemen zij het dalen van de vruchtbaarheid. Om een bevolking op peil te houden zou elke vrouw 2,1 kind moeten baren. In Nederland is deze zogenaamde vruchtbaarheid 1,7 sinds de jaren zeventig. Deze daling is hoogstens door een positief migratiesaldo – tijdelijk – uit te stellen. Dit zal het snelst merkbaar zijn buiten de Randstad.

Mogelijke gevolgen De gevolgen zijn natuurlijk legio. Met name wanneer de groei van de woningvoorraad steeds kleiner is in de toekomst. Het verschijnsel van sloop en vervangende nieuwbouw neemt de overhand. De aanpassing van de woningvoorraad aan de veranderende behoefte zal steeds minder via de groei van de woningvoorraad en steeds meer via de sloop en vervangende nieuwbouw plaatsvinden. De vraag is alleen wat aan te bieden op zulke locaties? Wil men kunnen concurreren met andere regio’s in de wereld dan is het nodig om vol in te zetten op de Noord- en Zuidvleugel. Dit gaat ten koste van perifere provincies. Essentieel hierbij is dat bij de bouw van wegen, bedrijventerreinen, kantoren en woningen niet meer het tempo en de hoeveelheid centraal staan.

Het zal veel meer zijn van welke soort, op welke plaats en wat als deze daling zich inzet? In plaats van kwantitatief, kwalitatief denken. Wat heeft onze regio te bieden aan bijzondere kwaliteiten?

Regio concurrentie Het gevolg is dat over de hele wereld economisch potentierijke regio’s concurreren met elkaar om mensen aan te trekken en te behouden. Met de opkomst van de creatieve economie volgt dus een dubbele concurrentie. Vooral ook omdat die – creatieve – kenniswerkers moeten komen uit gebieden waar ook al een bevolkingsdaling is of zal gaan optreden.

Positie Noordvleugel Juist de Noordvleugel heeft met de opkomst van de creatieve economie een enorm voordeel. Met als

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OPKOMST CREATIEVE ECONOMIE, EINDE ZUIDVLEUGEL?

belangrijkste pool Amsterdam is dit een creatieve magneet. De compacte metropool met haar historie van tolerantie en (VOC)handelsgeest, een accent op dienstverlening en een historisch centrum zorgen voor belangrijke voordelen. Bovendien heeft Amsterdam met AMSIX de grootste internethub van Europa en is het de stad van de menselijke maat.

Ook de regio zelf heeft met de aanwezigheid van het Gooi, de Vechtplassen, het Amstelland, de Oostvaardersplassen, het IJmeer, Waterland, de Beemster, de Bollenstreek, de Zaan, de Duinen en de Noordzee een zeer rijk palet met verschillende bijzondere milieus binnen handbereik. Onderzoek5 van Koos van Zanen e.a. toont aan dat Amsterdam dè creatieve hotspot is binnen Nederland. Het grootste probleem is echter de krapte op de woningmarkt.

Positie Zuidvleugel De Zuidvleugel daarentegen moet rekening houden met een beperkte groei. Zeker omdat de daling van de beroepsbevolking veel eerder inzet dan in de Noordvleugel. Rotterdam is voor de creatieve industrie veel minder in trek. Alleen op het gebied van architectuur en stedebouw kan het concurreren met Amsterdam. Dit kan te maken hebben met het feit dat het beleid in Rotterdam vanuit de historie veel meer gericht is op overslag en doorvoer van goederen en minder op het gebied van dienstverlening. Verder is het deels ontbreken van een historisch centrum in Rotterdam een belangrijk gegeven. Nu het industriële tijdperk overgaat in een creatief tijdperk zal zeker de haven moeten transformeren van een overslag- en doorvoerhaven naar een kennishaven anders is de stad veel te groot ten opzichte van de belangrijkste economische motor – menselijke creativiteit. De kaarten in het creatieve tijdperk lijken anders geschud, ten koste van de Zuidvleugel.

Gevolgen stedebouw en ruimtelijke ordening

Spreiding van de creatieve industrie in Amsterdam. Bron: Productiemilieus van de creatieve industrie in Amsterdam. Koos van Zanen e.a. dRO Amsterdam januari 2006. Tekening Mikel Knippenberg.

Eerder is al gesteld dat ruimtelijke ordening en stedebouw door de geschiedenis heen steeds de fysieke verschijning zijn geweest van de maatschappij en dus ook van de economie. Het lijkt erop te duiden dat het beleid veel meer gericht moet zijn op het ruimte bieden voor ontwikkelingen. Particuliere initiatieven domineren, de rol van de overheid zal faciliterend zijn met de juiste maatregel op het juiste moment. Monitoring en soms een vonk overbrengen in plaats van plannen uit de ijskast halen en ongeacht van de context opnieuw uitrollen.

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Amsterdam binnenstad

Juist de aanwezigheid van het historisch centrum in Amsterdam fungeert als creatieve magneet. Foto: dRO Amsterdam.

Bedrijfsverzamelgebouw

Gezamelijk kenmerk is dat deze bedrijfjes vaak klein zijn en veel onderlinge verbanden kennen.

Verder zijn ze vaak geclusterd in een bedrijfsverzamelgebouw. Foto: Mikel Knippenberg

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Kwaliteit in plaats van kwantiteit. Een geheel andere planvorm ontstaat waarin de uitkomst steeds anders kan zijn. De stedebouwer is een belangrijk strateeg in dit proces. Met name in de Noordvleugel, met een sterke creatieve sector is dit van levensbelang. Nu en in de nabije toekomst.

Een van de belangrijkste punten die naar voren komen is het besef dat het bij de aanleg van wegen, bedrijventerreinen, kantoren en woningen niet meer gaat om hoeveel en in welke tijd. Het gaat vooral om wat voegen we nog toe, welke soort, welke plaats en wat als de bevolkingsdaling intreedt? Lost het fileprobleem zich dan niet vanzelf op? Zijn er dan nog VINEX-wijken nodig? Kunnen we niet beter inzetten op duur segment huur- en koopwoningen om maar internationaal toptalent aan te trekken, etcetera? Het is ook een vraag van exclusief versus inclusief.

De grote kracht – of het grote gevaar – van beide ontwikkelingen is dat er een dubbele concurrentie ontstaat tussen regio’s om zowel creatief talent als mensen aan te trekken. Mensen en creativiteit zijn verworden tot het kapitaal van de toekomst.

Ruimte blijven bieden voor de creatieve economie 2020 AD

Noten: 1Structurele bevolkingsdaling. Een urgente nieuwe invalshoek voor beleidsmakers. W.Derks, P.Hovens en L.E.M.Klinkers in opdracht van de secretarissen van de Raad voor Verkeer en Waterstaat en van de VROMRaad. Den Haag februari 2006.

Met de opkomst van de creatieve economie en de structurele daling van de bevolking is het essentieel voor zowel bestuurders en ontwerpers om juist de specifieke kwaliteiten van streek en regio in kaart te brengen. Het blindstaren op postzegelplannen en aantallen leidt tot kortzichtigheid. Na ordening door schoonheid en ordening door kennis is het tijd voor ordening door CREATIVITEIT. Voor nu lijkt de Noordvleugel de beste kaarten te hebben.

2De creatieve industrie in Amsterdam en de regio. TNO september

De creatieve sector neemt het voortouw zelf en de overheid aarzelt. Het wachten is op de eerste creatieve stedebouw geïnitieerd door een ander type stedebouwer...

Amsterdam 1998.

2004.

3Levenscycli van gebieden. UvA en dRO Amsterdam 2005.

4Creatieve hotspots door van den Busken e.a. ten behoeve van ISoCaRP congres Bilbao Amsterdam november 2005.

5Productiemilieus van de creatieve industrie in Amsterdam. Koos van Zanen e.a. dRO Amsterdam januari 2006.

Literatuur -Czikentmihalyi, Creativiteit. Over flow, schepping en ontdekking,

-Florida, The Rise of the Creative Class, New York 2002.

-Florida, The Flight of the Creative Class, New York 2005.

-Hall, Cities in Civilization, Londen 1998.

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-Jacobs, The Death and Life of Great American Cities, New York

M.J. (Mikel Jan) Knippenberg is Master student Urbanism aan de TU-Delft in de richting Delta Design. Op dit moment loopt hij stage bij het planteam SRI bij dRO in Amsterdam en doet onderzoek naar de mogelijkheden voor het ontwikkelen van creatieve milieus binnen de creatieve kennisstad Amsterdam. Onderdeel daarvan is ook een strategie voor Amsterdam als waterstad. Als case werkt hij aan het NDSM-terrein in Amsterdam-Noord.

-Jacobs, The Economy of Cities, New York 1969.

1961.

-Landry, The Creative City, Londen 2000.

-ISoCaRP, Making spaces for the Creative Economy, Bilbao 2005.

Tekeningen Mikel Knippenberg, maart 2006.

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This article was originally written as a final paper for AR2U010: Society and Space as a response to Peter Roberts’ and Hugh Sykes’ Urban Regeneration: A Handbook. The final paper has been reworked to focus on the regeneration of the Karlín area in Prague and the 2002 floods.

Karlín

Urban regeneration and floods in the central part of Prague Jaromir Hainc

Floods change our perspective

Introduction The complexities of urban and regional development ask for creative solutions. In this article the situation in Prague, the capital of the Czech Republic, will be described, which during the last 15 years has been characterized by urban growth and changing policy.

Urban regeneration is part of Prague’s urban planning, one might even say that urban planning is determined by urban regeneration. In this article urban regeneration is defined as: “Comprehensive and integrated vision and action which leads to the resolution of urban problems and which seeks to bring about a lasting improvement in the economic, physical, social and environmental condition of an area that has been subject to change” (Roberts & Sykes, 2004: 17) and “strategic process that is managing decisions through the use of strategic choice” (2000: 22-23).

First, the urban policy in Prague is discussed, then the geography and development of Karlín, followed by the floods in 2002. It is argued that Karlín’s situation is representative for the region.

Urban policy in Prague Urban planning in the Czech Republic is established on three levels: governmental, regional and municipal.

On the national level, executed by the government, there is the Policy of National Development. On regional level, executed by the regional authority and approved by the Regional Council, there are the Principles of Regional Development. On the municipal level, executed by the municipality and approved by the Town/City council, we find a Town Planning Scheme. Sometimes a Local Zoning Plan is used for small parts of the city.

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The situation in Prague, however, is more complicated. Prague is the capital city of the Czech Republic and the 14th region in the country. It has 1.2 million inhabitants and is the political, commercial and cultural centre of the republic. The Great Municipal Council has the right to ask the Parliament for a new law, or to create one, then functioning as a city council. The regional plan has to be approved by the Great Municipal Council. The main decision-making on the lower level is done by local councils and municipalities. The development has to be in accordance with the Town Planning Scheme, but the decisions about plan inquiry are made by local municipalities.

A new Town Planning Scheme is made every 15-20 years, but during that period the city experiences an enormous number of changes due to the pressure of private investments and changes in the law on the national level (e.g. in 2004 there were 154 changes; http://www.praha-mesto.cz/uzplan).

The temporary Town Planning Scheme of 1999 consisted of a compulsory part (regulations and a land use plan) and a general report of aims. The land use plan and regulations are the main decision making tools of the municipality when dealing with the process of urban planning. What is still missing is a Strategic Plan. In 2000 the municipality of Prague proposed a Strategic plan for the coming 20 years, but this has still not been approved. Another problem is that it is not obligatory for the municipalities to work out a strategic plan (Municipality of Prague, 2005).

Another aspect that plays an important role in the development of Prague is the protection of historical monuments. Prague is one of the World Heritage Cities listed by UNESCO (since 1992).The Historical Protected Area covers 8,66 square km. The Urban Monument Reservation of the inner city of Prague Core has drawn up a Local Zoning Plan. This plan is composed of three basic zones: a conservation zone with the highest amount of listed (and thus protec-

ted) buildings, a stabilized zone and a transformation zone which is designed for development. Karlín, the regeneration area, is situated in a protected zone, which covers a total area of 90 square km and includes a large number of protected cultural monuments, buildings and landmarks (Maier, Hexner & Kibic, 1998: 124-126).

Geography, history and development of Karlin The development of the Karlín area is explained here with the help of the description of historical developments published by Karlín Real Estate Group (www. karlin.cz). After each (summarized) description, my own interpretations are given (in italic).

Karlín, part of Prague, is situated north-west from the historical centre. The population consists of about 25.000 residents. Nowadays it is a part of the inner city. The shape of the area is rectangular, bordered to the south by hill Vítkov, to north by River Vltava and to the west by Negreliho viaduct.

When looking at the relation between the physical and the morphological composition, the connection of the area with the city centre, visual as well as mental, is barely a good one. However, the connection by public transport, especially metro and tram line can be considered as good.

Karlín was founded in 1817. It was the first suburban expansion of Prague. One of the most important structures built before Karlín’s official founding is Invalidovna, a large Baroque-style complex. Systematic development of the area and the first building regulation did not begin until the middle of the 19th century. In 1816, 43 buildings were registered in Karlín. In the same year, the first regulatory measures were put in place, mainly due to an increasing number of applications for construction of new or reconstruction of old buildings. During the first stage, a basic geometrical formula was applied, which stemmed from the Classicist concept of a regular network of perpendicular streets with a central plaza. This way, three main streets-Sokolovská, Křižíkova, and Pernerova– and six perpendicular side streets were created.

This layout created blocks with large dimensions that hid inner courtyards and lay at the base of the later development of the interior space of the building blocks.

By 1827, Karlín had 79 buildings, and the number kept growing, reaching 200 in 1846. A major change occurred in the western section of this new suburb with the construction of a new railway bridge, the so-called

Negrelli Viaduct (Ing. Negrelli - designer and project manager of the railway, built 1846-51 ), changing its ground plan in a substantial manner. The old city fortifications, which up to then had separated Karlín from the New Town, were torn down in 1866. This significantly increased interest in the new district, mainly thanks to its proximity to downtown Prague.

Another important contribution to the development of this part of Prague was the construction of a Křižík Electric Tramway line to Libeň, which passed through Karlín. (Fr. Křižík was the inventor and entrepreneur

Map of Karlín with the areas of development

of the electric tram line in1891) Today Negrelliho viaduct seems to be a mental border between the new and the old city. The same is true for the inner ring road of Prague.

Besides residential building blocks, which are typical for Karlín, an important role in the history of the district has been played by industrial plants. Originally, factories were concentrated mostly in the western section, but in 1847 several factories were built along Křižíkova and Pernerova Streets. Together with other smaller plants, they were later absorbed by the expanding ČKD machine complex. Many shops were built inside building blocks, gradually replacing old or unsuitable buildings.

All these changes together led to the appearance of many brown field areas in the vicinity of housing areas. This seems a disadvantage, but it also means that there is a potential for urban renewal. The main task at hand is to solve the problem of the damaged courtyards inside the building blocks.

Karlín gained administrative independence in 1903.

At that time, the district’s territory spanned from today’s Šaldova Street to Invalidovna. During 190314, many streets in the newly regulated area were developed. Karlín became a part of Greater Prague in 1922. After the Second World War, only a small number of unimportant changes were made. At present, the new dominants are the Hilton Hotel (formerly Atrium, 1980’s) and the IBC Office Center.

Both structures are located in the northwest section of Karlín outside the Negrelli Viaduct. There additional development was expected along the river.

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Left: Corso Karlín, arch. Ricardo Bofill, Jean Pierre Carniaux, 2001

However, the new development in the 1990’s also brings new problems which demand a revision of the used solutions.

dential, and entertainment space were to be built.

Real Estate Karlín Group paid close attention to the quality of the architectural design of all the projects it planned and executed. The first successful pro-

The containment of urban growth After the “Velvet Revolution” in 1989 and changes in society including the transformation from a centrally planned economy to an economy of free trade, new developments started throughout the whole country. The most important goal was the alleviation of poverty and increase of private investment (especially by foreign companies) made possible by an open market economy. Some 15 years later, the living standard and economy in Prague is higher than the average of the former EU 15 countries. There is an enormous demand for inner city areas and the pressure caused by private investors has increased in the last several years. At the same time the political and cultural environment changed their position from a passive to active. In the beginning of the 90’s all development was focused on and situated in the historical core. After a few years it became clear, that it was necessary to develop new areas for offices, shops, housing and industry. Until 1990 Karlín was still partly an industrial area with large machine industries. The housing stock consisted mainly of old and ill maintained flats. In a way these areas can even be seen as brown field areas.

jects were finished in the 2001 and 2002. They were entrepreneurially successful in two ways: they were sold and used by famous companies as headquarters, and the buildings were awarded and won several prizes for their design and quality of architecture and because they upgraded existing built-up areas.

It seemed as if there were no problems at all. The developer did not involve the municipality or any public party in the process. At present we can consider, that the weakness of these projects lies just here, when the private sector takes over the role of the municipality, so to speak. The cooperation between the municipality, the private investors and the inhabitants was bad (http://construction.cz/cze/ covart.asp). At the same time the new administrative complex of Danube House (20 000 m2 office area) was developed and built by another real estate company as a part of River City. This area is situated in a former storage area near the river Vltava. The private investor played a main role there and this project is an example of excellent architecture with a fully ecological concept. In the middle of 2002 everybody in the Czech Republic thought of these examples as the proper way for urban regeneration.

In 1997 a private company was created – Real Estate Karlín Group. Its investment and development activities concentrated mainly on the Prague 8 district, in particular Karlín and Libeň where the company owns a sizeable amount of real estate. Activities were focused on commercial uses in this area and the main idea and objective were to create an administrative centre not far from the centre of Prague. They decided to realize new buildings and to reconstruct old ones. At this point it is important to notice that the rent in municipal private houses is still regulated; this didn’t result in a flat-market, but it stopped social segregation.

Floods as an unexpected accident The day of the flood: 14.08.2002 From 12th to 18th August 2002 parts of the Czech Republic were damaged by floods. The floods and the damage were tremendous. Prague was fortunate and misfortunate at the same time. The Old Town and Charles Bridge survived, but other parts including Karlín were destroyed. Why? At first nobody expected that these large floods were possible, because there was a system of water reservoirs for the river Vltava.

But this was in fact, false security. The construction work and terms of the project for prevention against floods, which had to be finished at the end of 90’s, were postponed many times. The only area that survived after the flood, was a place where the constructions of movable dikes was built – Prague Old Town (part of UNESCO protected area). There are a lot of things still unclear concerning the flood.

The revitalization of the Karlín district – Nový Karlín (New Karlín) was based on a land-use plan and an architectural study. In a few years several thousand square meters of administrative, commercial, resi-

Right: Corso Karlín, from Vitkov hill, 2002.

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Responsibilities Who was responsible for the situation? The whole area of Karlín was flooded and everything up until the first floor was under water. Several houses were destroyed during flooding and approximately 40 were damaged. The cost of floods was in Prague 26 billion crowns (= 870 million EUR). Only for the metro system the costs were 7 billion (= 230 million EUR) (www. radio.cz/cz/clanek/44229). One year after the floods Karlín was still cut of from the rest of Prague. Now, after tree years, we can finally see improvement. We can not specify precisely who is responsible for the flooding in 2002, but some particular responsibility must exist. The first responsibility lies on the side of the municipality, who made the process of approval and building of the movable dikes such a long-during process. At the same time the investors did not take into account the actual danger for the area. The final responsibility lies with the government, which did not have a strategic plan on how to solve the danger of flooding on a national level. There were floods in the eastern part of the Czech Republic in 1997, but after five years nothing important had happened. In the case of Prague, after tree years the situation seems to be better. But the cost had to be paid by all the inhabitants of the city. The project of the dikes has finished, the renewal continued, and the infrastructure is completed and functional.

And last but not least the public organizations and associations and groups as well as the owners, tenants and customers ask for their rights and information. (www.sps.cz/obecne_16/kap.asp). The water came at great speed, but with the same velocity new life starts to grow in all areas. However, in Karlín it was more difficult, and it is still evident, that a lack of cooperation and participation can damage projects of great quality. The investors had not thought about the natural composition of the area. They also failed to take into account the importance of facilities (e.g. theater, cinema or other socio-cultural landmark).

This led to mono-functional use (offices and living) of the area, which is in contradiction to the central position and potentials. The first new flats were opened there in 2005.

Conclusion The example of urban regeneration in Karlín represents how development in the Czech cities is realized.

It is mostly project based. These projects themselves are successful, but they can not solve the larger problems, as vulnerability to floods. When looking at the previous examples we can see several problems in the transformation of economies common for all Middle and East European countries.

At first the policy is restrictive in the centers of cities and very slack in the outskirts. This means that the final image of an urban project, the actual realization, depends on the quality and aims of investors and designers. All these involved professionals are, however, part of the private sector. The public sector is only present at the beginning of the process and lacking in the rest of the process.

If we look back on the case of Karlín, the first thing we miss is the long term, an idea, a perspective of future development. Does Prague want to be a real metropolitan city or only a tourist attraction? To find answers we have to ask politicians, inhabitants, companies and different associations and groups.

People hardly realize what their position is in society, let alone understand their position in the planning process. The situation is improving, however (ČTK - eStav.cz , 27.8.2003). But also, urbanists have to work out strategic projects with a long term view.

The Czech Republic traditionally had an Office of the City Architect. The Main Architect of the City was responsible for the perspective and the development in the city. These offices were abolished after changes in 1990 as a reaction against all regulations from communist’s times. Nowadays some cities are reintroducing these offices.

Finally, in the Czech Republic urban planning and design still work according to tradition, concern mainly spatial qualities, and do not include creating strategies to reach a goal. On the other hand, we also have to keep in mind the care of our cultural heritage. To protect and preserve it for next generations is the most important task and a challenge for Czech urbanists.

Left: Prague floods, 14th august 2002.

Right: Karlín, 14th august 2002.

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Jaromir Hainc originally comes from the Czech republic and is currently following a master study in Urbanism at the TU Delft.

References: - European Environmental Agency, 2004, EEA Signals 2004, Copenhagen, http://reports.eea.eu.int/signals-2004/en/tab_abstract_RLR - Encyclopedia Britannica via internet: http://www.britannica. com - Maier, K., 2005, Urban Planning - Lectures, Faculty of Architecture CTU in Prague, www.gis-cvut.cz - Maier, K., M. Hexner & K. Kibic, 1998, Urban Development of Prague: History and Present Issues, Vydavatelství ČVUT, Praha - Municipality of Prague, 2005, www.praha-mesto.cz ; www.prahamesto.cz/uzplan - Roberts, P. & H. Sykes, 2004, Urban Regeneration, A Handbook, Sage publications, London

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Agenda Agenda Activiteiten Polis

Activiteiten NAI

POLIS: Excursion Prague 13-19 April 2006 Prague was chosen according to the theme of Polis for this year, which is GROWING EUROPE - SHRINKING WORLD. The Czech Republic is a new member of the EU. We would like to see the current in the capital; changes from the communist regime to the pluralistic democracy and their impact in the city. We would like to focus more on urbanism and urban development, but we will not forget to see the most interesting architectural pieces

DYNAMICITY Tactics for a changing metropolis 25 March t/m 11 June 2006 It takes more than buildings to make a city. This fact is demonstrated by a new group of architects from Spain, Italy, Japan and the Netherlands. They feel buildings are too sluggish and cities too fast. They develop new methods to intervene in the city’s dynamics. They create scenarios for holding exhibitions as large as the Dutch province of Noord-Brabant, drive around the city with a tenmetre mobile pub or collaborate with local residents to change buildings. As representatives of this movement, the NAI selected Chora (the Netherlands), Actar Arquitectura (Spain), Stalker/ON (Italy) and Atelier Bow-Wow (Japan). From March 25 up to and including June 11, their new ideas and strategies will be presented in the exhibition “DynamiCity -Tactics for a Changing Metropolis”.

as well.

POLIS: Urbanism week September 2006 POLIS is preparing for the annual Urbanism Week, which will take place in September. The main goal of this week is to inform bachelor students about the field of urban design. Furthermore, this week provides a chance for students to give their input in the discussion between students and city planners.

We’re still brainstorming on the theme and agenda, so any ideas or opinions are welcome.

Urbanism professionals who have ideas or want to help organize an Urbanism week activity are of course always welcome!

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CHINA CONTEMPORARY Contemporary Architecture in China 11 June / 3 September 2006 A modern China seems to be on the ascendant. Advertising and propaganda promise every citizen a rich life, a private apartment, a car and one child in a modern metropolis. After decades of living under stringently imposed rules, people are now sensing the chance to work together to build a modern, economically vibrant China, one that offers scope for individualistic lifestyles and personal ambition. This transformation is being shaped entirely to

a Western model. Now a number of Chinese artists and designers are raising critical questions about the course of change.

The Netherlands Architecture Institute, Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen and the Nederlands fotomuseum have joined forces to stage a penetrating interdisciplinary overview of contemporary Chinese art, architecture, urban design and visual culture, which will offer space for this critical dissent.

Activiteiten elders International Conference Re-inventing the Urban Identity October 18th – 20th, 2006 ‘Modernization & Regionalism – Re-inventing the Urban Identity’ is the title of an international conference that will take place in Beijing. The theme of the conference is the increasing contradiction between the modernization of cities and regions on the one hand, the cultural identity and sustainability of these places on the other.

The conference will be organized by the International Forum on Urbanism, collaboration between TU Delft, Tsinghua University Beijing and NTU Taipei.

PARTNERS VAN POLIS

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DE POLISSTELLING

De Polisstelling

The polisstatement

Om de discussie in ons vakgebied gaande en vooral levendig te houden, is het idee ontstaan om in de Atlantis een stelling op te nemen. Een ieder die graag iets kwijt wil aangaande dit onderwerp en de discussie wil openen, kan dit doen door een reactie te sturen naar polis@bk.tudelft.nl.

Ingekomen reacties worden geplaatst in de volgende Atlantis.

To keep the discussion in the field of urbanism going and most of all lively, the idea has arisen to include a statement in the Atlantis. Anyone who would like to react on the statement and open the discussion, can do so by sending a reaction to polis@bk.tudelft.nl. Reactions will be printed in the new Atlantis.

In the beginning 1980s and early 1990s, the New Urbanism movement was initiated to restore a civic realm and urban design dogma to urban planning as a tangible response to the failed Modernist planning that has resulted in the abandonment of our cities1.

Nowadays, it seems that history is repeating itself.

planning at the moment, or are the people in acute need of a more personal, small scale design approach of urbanism taking into account, the “genius loci”, the spirit of a place. As Albert Einstein once said: “The world we have created today as a result of our thinking thus far has problems which cannot be solved by thinking the way we thought when we

Urbanism has fallen on hard times. Cities today are designed as a tangible response to strategic planning by an intricate play of government regulation, private investor, and public protest. The dogma of mainstream urbanism has shifted from design-based principle to a management strategy and decisionmaking by large institutions. It seems that design is no longer fulfils the basic needs. Planning instead, seems to lead to the abandonment of design principles or worse, it becomes ‘anti-urbanism’ - the end of urbanism. However, we now see that design is coming back, taking the historical circumstances and knowledge with us into the future of urbanism.

There is an increasing awareness that a city needs to be understood as a complex interactive system and that the design of public space is vital for a healthy city.

created them”.

By defining urbanism as a product of unique and long gone historical circumstances, it raises the questions: what is one going to replace it with? What is the doctrine of today’s “new urbanism”? How will urban designers work and guide all these forces? And more critical, how does the designer get a seat at the table when the decisions are already being made? People are in urgent need for new instruments of urban planning and design with expectation to mark ‘the beginning of urbanism’. Is the theory of urbanism as a strategy still a fitting way to approach urban

stelling/statement

Terug naar de toekomst: het einde van strategische planning.

Back to the future: the end of strategic planning.

1

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_urbanism

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