Open Skies December 2012 Issue

D O O H R U O B H G I E THE N 12 0 2 e d i Gu

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United States Atlanta Atlantic City Baltimore Biloxi Boston Chicago Cleveland Dallas Denver Destin Detroit Four Winds Foxwoods Gatlinburg Hollywood, CA on Hollywood Blvd.

Hollywood, CA at Universal CityWalk Hollywood, FL Honolulu Houston Indianapolis Key West Lake Tahoe Las Vegas Las Vegas at Hard Rock Hotel Louisville Maui Memphis Miami Myrtle Beach Nashville New Orleans New York Niagara Falls Orlando Philadelphia Phoenix Pittsburgh San Antonio San Diego San Francisco Seattle St. Louis Tampa Washington, DC Yankee Stadium Canada Niagara Falls Ottawa Toronto

join us in the fight against world hunger and poverty visit hard rock cafe or hardrock.com and show your support by purchasing exclusive benefit products.

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EDITOR's LETTER I

t’s no secret that the world’s cities are getting bigger and more crowded with every passing year. To give just one example, by the year 2025, 85 million people will live in the planet’s three most populous cities: Tokyo, Mumbai and Delhi. This is obviously a problem, but it’s also a challenge; just how should the modern city be built in order to cope with these new demographics. It’s a challenge that we posed this month to Edward Glaeser, author of Triumph of the City, and he had some interesting answers. Elsewhere, we travel to London, where the Barbican celebrates its thirtieth birthday. This development has been nothing if not controversial but, as The Independent’s architecture critic points out, the naysayers have been proved wrong. We also rate the world’s best neighbourhoods – from Brazil to Yemen, we pick the places you should be visiting. While city guides are common, we feel that as cities grow ever bigger, it is the neighbourhoods that will be the real draw. Some of our picks might surprise you, but we hope they will get you thinking about flying somewhere new. We also feature the the legendary Japanese designer Takashi Akiyama with a specially designed cover. Enjoy the issue.

conor@openskiesmagazine.com

Emirates takes care to ensure that all facts published herein are correct. In the event of any inaccuracy please contact The Editor. Any opinion expressed is the honest belief of the author based on all available facts. Comments and facts should not be relied upon by the reader in taking commercial, legal, financial or other decisions. Articles are by their nature general and specialist advice should always be consulted before any actions are taken. po Box 2331, Dubai, UAE Telephone: (+971 4) 427 3000 Fax:(+971 4) 428 2260 Email: emirates@motivate.ae

93,731 CopiES printed by Emirates printing press, Dubai, UAE

Editor-in-ChiEf Obaid Humaid Al Tayer Group Editor & ManaGinG partnEr Ian Fairservice Group SEnior Editor Gina Johnson • gina@motivate.ae SEnior Editor Mark Evans • marke@motivate.ae Editor Conor Purcell • conor@motivate.ae dEputy Editor Gareth Rees • gareth@motivate.ae dESiGnEr Roui Francisco • rom@motivate.ae Staff writEr Matthew Priest • matthew@motivate.ae Editorial aSSiStant Londresa Flores SEnior produCtion ManaGEr S Sunil Kumar produCtion ManaGEr C Sudhakar GEnEral ManaGEr, Group SalES Anthony Milne • anthony@motivate.ae diGital dEvElopMEnt ManaGEr Helen Cotton • helenc@motivate.ae Group SalES ManaGEr Jaya Balakrishnan • jaya@motivate.ae SEnior SalES ManaGEr Shruti Srivastava Editorial ConSultantS for EMiratES: Editor: Jonathan Hill Arabic Editor: Hatem Omar Deputy Editor: Andy Grant wEbSitE • emirates.com. ContributorS: Ignacio Gomez, Tahira Yaqoob, Rick Berkelmans, Gemma Correll, Adam Lee Davies, Kelly Cheng, Tess Patterson, Jay Merrick, Robert Michael Poole, Kevin Buckley, Matjaz Krivic, Jonathan Pryce, Cheryl Critchley, Theresa Mallinson, Matthias Wurz, CovEr illuStration by Takashi Akiyama InTErnATIonAL MEDIA rEprESEnTATIvES: AUSTrALIA/nEW ZEALAnD okeeffe Media, Kevin o’ Keeffe; Tel + 61 89 447 2734, okeeffekev@bigpond.com.au, BEnELUXM.p.S. Benelux; Francesco Sutton; Tel +322 720 9799, Fax +322 725 1522, francesco.sutton@mps-adv.com ChInA publicitas Advertising; Tel +86 10 5879 5885 FrAnCE Intermedia Europe Ltd; Fiona Lockie, Katie Allen, Laura renault; Tel +33 15 534 9550, Fax +33 15 534 9549, administration@intermedia.europe.com GErMAnY IMv International Media Service Gmbh, Wolfgang Jäger; Tel +49 89 54 590 738, Fax +49 89 54 590 769, wolfgang.jager@iqm.de honG KonG/MALAYSIA/ ThAILAnD Sonney Media networks, hemant Sonney; Tel +852 27 230 373, Fax +852 27 391 815, hemant@sonneymedia.com InDIA Media Star, ravi Lalwani; Tel +91 22 4220 2103, Fax +91 22 2283 9619, ravi@mediastar.co.in ITALY IMM Italia Lucia Colucci; Tel +39 023 653 4433, Fax +39 029 998 1376, lucia.colucci@fastwebnet.it JApAn Tandem Inc.; Tel + 81 3 3541 4166, Fax +81 3 3541 4748, all@tandem-inc.com nEThErLAnDS GIo Media, Giovanni Angiolini; Tel +31 6 2223 8420, giovanni@ gio-media.nl SoUTh AFrICA ndure Dale Isaac; Tel +27 84 701 2479, dale@ndure.co.za SpAIn IMM International, nicolas Devos; Tel +331 40 1300 30, n.devos@imminternational.com TUrKEY Media Ltd.; Tel: +90 212 275 51 52, mediamarketingtr@medialtd.com.tr UK Spafax Inflight Media, nick hopkins, Arnold Green; Tel +44 207 906 2001, Fax +44 207 906 2022, nhopkins@spafax.com USA Totem Brand Stories, Brigitte Baron, Marina Chetner; Tel +212 896 3846, Fax +212 896 3848, brigitte. baron@rtotembrandstories.com

39

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CONTENTS // THE URBAN ISSUE

HONG KONG’S APARTMENT IMAGERY (P68)

FROM NEW YORK TO PARIS, WE TRACE WOODY ALLEN’S CITY LOVE AFFAIRS (P61)

A BRIEF HISTORY OF LOST CITIES FROM ATLANTIS TO MACHU PICCHU (P62)

JAZZ LEGEND WYNTON MARSALIS GIVES US HIS TOP MUSICAL PICKS (P53)

THE URBAN ISSUE

41

CONTENTS // THE URBAN ISSUE

THE BARBICAN HAS TURNED THIRTY. WE EXAMINE ITS LEGACY (P116)

WHAT IS GANGNAM STYLE AND WHY IS IT SO POPULAR RIGHT NOW? (P94]

A LOOK AT SOME OF THE MOST FAMOUS (AND INFAMOUS) MAYORS IN HISTORY (P128)

42 THE URBAN ISSUE

WE FEATURE THE WORLD’S BEST (AND MOST SURPRISING) NEIGHBOURHOODS (P74)

contributors

TAKASHi AKiyAmA

: One of Japan’s most respected graphic artists, Takashi has been a pioneer in the field of poster design and has won awards for his work from South Africa to Mexico. One of the legends of the Asian design scene, this is one of his first magazine cover designs.

iGNACiO GOmEZ: A Dubai-based Spanish architect, Ignacio – and his wife Blanca Lopez-Serentill – have documented the graphic outlines of the city in their book Dubai Graphic Encyclopedia. A striking visual outline of modern Dubai, their book is a must for UAE design fans.

ADAm LEE DAViES: Adam Lee Davies is a film writer whose work has appeared in Sight & Sound, the Guardian and Creative Review amongst many other publications in the UK.

JAy mErriCK: The Independent’s architecture critic since 2000, he has also written for Blueprint, Architects Journal, ArtReview and the New Statesman. He is also the editorial consultant for a number of architectural practices. mATJAZ KriViC: A Slovenian photographer with more than two decades of experience, Matjaz’s work has been exhibited around the world, and he has won a number of photography awards. His latest project focuses on the urban experience in the developing world.

44

INTRO P. 48 • DUBAI’S GATE VILLAGE P. 56 • NAIROBI MAPPED P. 61 • WOODY ALLEN’S CITIES

P. 70 • SOWETO THEATRE

47

illustration: rick berkelmans

hen Marco Pierre White was choosing the Dubai branch of his Wheelers of St James eatery, he did not pick a five-star hotel, he picked a space in the heart of the financial district, nestled amid the art galleries, restaurants and residences of DIFC Gate Village.

It was a smart move, and one which will no doubt pay dividends when the hoarding surrounding his long-awaited latest venture finally comes down.

Dubai International Finance Centre, which includes civil law courts, Gate Building and Gate Precinct alongside Gate Village, marks its 10-year anniversary this year.

And if it has one cause to celebrate, it is that Gate Village has emerged as a cultural and social destination in itself.

W

By day it is filled with suits bustling to offices among its multiple buildings and networking over snatched meals in restaurants offering business lunch deals.

By night, though, it attracts a quite different crowd – those who come to appreciate art and socialise over cocktails and fine dining in the likes of Zuma, La Petite Maison and Gaucho.

It is quite a coup for a financial quarter – who, for example, would consider travelling to London’s Canary Wharf

our man in

dubai

Gate VillaGe in the dubai international financial centre has finally blossomed into a true cultural area

Tahira Yaqoob is a freelance writer based in Dubai 48

or New York’s Wall Street after office hours, simply to enjoy the nightlife?

But it has taken a long time – with a few missteps along the way – to get there. The recession dealt a severe blow to the district with DIFC Investments reporting losses of more than $560 million in 2010.

That year saw rents being slashed and the closure of prestige designer boutiques such as Villa Moda, Vivienne Westwood, Issey Miyake and

Jill Sander, which had been open for little more than a year. Most complained of low footfall and a location which did nothing to boost sales.

DIFC officials realised high-end fashion stores were not working outside malls and went down a different route, attracting traders selling wares for those with a taste for the finer things in life – whether it was a piece of vintage furniture, an unusual sculpture, a piece of jewellery or French cuisine.

The investment seems to have paid off. Isam Dahmash opened franchises of The Rug Company and Andrew Martin furniture store, both UK-based, in Gate Village.

Collectively, they offer a range of quirky furnishings, from Matthew Williamson-designed rugs to original vintage film posters and even a

Who would consider Canary wharf or wall street as a viable night life destination? diFC has pulled it off very well $28,000 miniature scale Titanic used in the 1953 film of the same name.

Dahmash says: “I did not want to be in a mall. I wanted to be in a place where we would be targeted rather than getting walk-by customers.”

“We do not appeal to everyone because of our prices, but we do offer exclusivity.”

The stores had a couple of difficult years after opening in 2008 but sales this year have been more than double those of 2011, thanks in some part to the opening of new restaurants.

“Gate Village is becoming more orientated toward food and beverage outlets rather than sales,” says Dahmash.

“That helps us because they are high-end and bring in the kind of people we would like to see in-store.”

The proliferation of art galleries, from Cuadro and XVA to Ayyam and Opera, benefit from the same ‘synergy,’ say their owners. The monthly event Art Nights, where galleries open their doors until late, now draws an eclectic crowd of hundreds.

Amel Makkawi, founder of Art Sawa, says her DIFC outlet, opened last year, is a ‘shop window’ drumming up trade for her larger, out-of-the-way warehouse in Al Quoz industrial estate, another hub for artists’ studios and galleries.

“My collectors and new potential clients are here but they have to be dragged to Al Quoz,” she says.

“Art and finance go together; you cannot develop art if there is no finance and art is a good investment.

“My only regret is I wish I had a bigger gallery but there was not the space.”

Instead, collectors intrigued by the sample collection are then enticed to visit her Al Quoz gallery: “DIFC is the cherry on the cake, a little taster; Al Quoz is like sitting down to lunch and enjoying art.”

Cedric Toussaint, manager of La Petite Maison, says the restaurant opened two years ago with one proviso that it was not to be inside a hotel so as to maintain its individuality.

Sixty per cent of lunchtime customers work in DIFC but at night, he says, it is a “destination restaurant.”

“There is a synergy between the galleries and restaurants because they have the same clientele – businessmen, Emiratis and entrepreneurs,” he says.

For Makkawi, the key is the mix of clientele: “The restaurants, banks and galleries – they all form a village,” she says.

“And if you are working here, wouldn’t you rather pop out to have a coffee in a gallery than look at another pair of shoes?”

tWitter

pitCh Today’s urban-dweller can survive off caffeine and free wi-fi. Here are some places noT To miss.

Shelter based in Dubai’s ultra-cool alserkal avenue, shelter is an idea incubation platform with 40mb internet and good coffee. @shelterdxb Graze bistro a bistro and bar in Hong kong’s sheung Wan district that serves wholesome, hearty food and gourmet coffees – great for meetings. @grazecafe Shoreditch Grind an independent espresso bar on london’s old street roundabout serving amazing coffee and a busy city vibe. @shoreditchgrind berkli parc this laptop-friendly café based in new York’s lower east side successfully creates a laidback working environment and some top-notch coffee. @berkliparc Studio K Popular with university students, amsterdam’s studio k has plenty of space and nibbles for even the hungriest of freelancers. @studiok

49

room room

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IntercontInentaL

BANGKOK

Internet SpeeD: 20mbps pILLowS: Four (more available from

the pillow menu) IpoD Dock: Yes cLuB SanDwIch DeLIVery tIme:

22 minutes compLImentary SnackS:

Water, chocolates, fruit, tea and coffee toILetry BranD: Audleys London DaILy newSpaper: IHT

Bangkok is a city blessed with a large number of world-class hotels, all of which combine Asian hospitality with a discrete service ethos that is hard to find outside of Asia. The InterContinental, despite being on the large side (381 rooms in all) manages this quite well, partially due to a huge lobby which means the number of guests is never overwhelming. The rooms are large, with (at least on the higher floors) commanding views over Bangkok. Despite the variety of business amenities on offer, there is a still a charge for Wi-Fi, a habit many five-star hotels have thankfully grown out of. The location is great though, close to the nocturnal activities of Sukhumvit, and to a variety of shopping malls, including the vast Central. Elevated walkways take you to the metro, and from there, the rest of the city.

tV channeLS: 7 0 VIew: 3 / 5 rate: From $220 WWW.IcHOTELsGrOUP.cOM/INTErcONTINENTAL

December calenDar

noV 30 to Dec 8

DecemBer 2

DecemBer 4 anD 5 DecemBer 10 National samba Day

Night of the Proms

Marrakech’s famous central square, the Place Djemaa el-Fna, is transformed into an outdoor cinema for the festival. festivalmarrakech.info

Expect lavish celebrations as the Emirate of Dubai celebrates 41 years of UAE independence with a range of spectacular events. en.uaenationalday.ae

If any country is to have a day dedicated to samba, it is Brazil. A series of samba and carnival events take place around the country. brazilcarnival.com.br

Aida Night of the Proms rolls into Frankfurt’s Festhalle with a programme of light classics and some big names. notp.com

Marrakech International Film Festival

50

UAE National Day

FENDI CHAMELEON COLLECTION SERIES 3004 IS A REGISTERED MODEL

FENDI.COM

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DOWN AND OUT IN PARIS AND LONDON GEORGE ORWELL

Long before the likes of Hunter S Thompson, Norman Mailer and Tom Wolfe emerged as the leaders of ‘New Journalism,’ George Orwell had created something as authentic and brilliant as any of these writers with Down and Out in Paris and London. Orwell, of course, is better known for his novels, primarily Animal Farm and Nineteen Eighty-Four, but it is his stripped-down account of life among the urban poor of London and Paris that showcased his talents, and bravery, as a journalist. The first half of the book is set in Paris, where he takes a series of menial restaurant jobs in order to survive. Orwell’s Paris is not the city of Hemingway or Fitzgerald – his is a life of drudgery, hunger and petty feuds.

There is no glamour in his accounts, no romance; just the bleak reality of life on the edges of society. As always with Orwell his writing is to the point – and the elegance in that simplicity is what makes him such a great writer. He is also a genuinely likeable narrator, and it’s this voice that carries the book through the underbelly of French and British life so well. Victor Gollancz, 1933

December calenDar

DecemBer 5 to 9

DecemBer 9

DecemBer 9 to 16 DecemBer 31 DIFF

New Year’s Eve

The adrenaline-filled sport of ice climbing takes centre stage with a series of competitions and demonstrations. bozemanicefestival.com

Asia’s biggest horseracing event attracts owners, trainers and jockeys from all across the world to witness the racing and join in the party. racing.hkjc.com

Now in its ninth year, the Dubai International Film Festival has grown into one of the region’s leading film events. dubaifilmfest.com

Welcome in the New Year with one of the world’s most famous parties, in New York city’s Times square. newyearsevecentral.com/newyork

Ice climbing Festival

52

Hong Kong races

SkYPoD moDern JaZZ maSter anD artIStIc DIrector oF JaZZ at LIncoLn center Doha, wynton marSaLIS, reVeaLS hIS eIGht FaVourIte trackS

JOHN COLTRANE – RESOLUTION At the beginning of the track, they almost don’t get started right, like they have a little misunderstanding or something. But then they go on to record one of the swingingest tracks ever.

ORNETTE COLEMAN – LONELY WOMAN The drums are playing in triple time; it’s a real slow melody with fast drums, and because of that type of cry it’s an Ornette coleman sound.

BACH – MASS IN B MINOR, BRANDENBURG CONCERTOS I would choose this for its unbelievable beauty and mastery.

It’s the pinnacle of music – Bach.

BEETHOVEN – STRING QUARTET, F MAJOR, OPUS 135 There’s a wistfulness to it. I love the vivace, triplet movement, in threes. Turning triplets around, a churning kind of rhythm. It’s singsong and also kind of dynamic. His compositional mastery is unbelievable.

53

LOUIS ARMSTRONG AND HIS HOT SEVEN – TIGHT LIKE THIS Just the optimism and power of his repeated fanfare-like statements.

It’s so optimistic and indomitable.

I love what he does with that.

MARCUS ROBERTS – A SERVANT OF THE PEOPLE This is from the album Blues For The New Millennium, and it’s a track that is both sophisticated and down home.

BILLIE HOLIDAY – A SAILBOAT IN THE MOONLIGHT Out of all Billie Holiday’s great tracks, I would choose this one. I love her and Lester Young playing together; they had a great symbiotic relationship.

MY FUNNY VALENTINE, MILES DAVIS IN CONCERT – STELLA BY STARLIGHT I just love the way the band members respond to each other, and Miles’s mastery of the nuances of his language.

54

conor PUrcell oPen Skies editor conor purcell on culture shock and the joy of cities he city has become something of a hot topic in recent years – books have been written, university courses undertaken, government departments set up – all to understand just how we can best live together in the urban environment. Authors such as Greg Lindsay and Edward Glaeser (interviewed on p65) have looked at the city as an intersection of humanity, economics and the environment, and the possibilities, and the challenges, of this urban age are unlimited.

What happens when masses of people converge on one area – how do they adapt? How does the city adapt around the needs of its residents? And what how does one resident (me) adapt to life in one of the biggest urban sprawls on the planet.

I lived in Seoul for three years nearly a decade ago, and my first impression was not good: a massive expanse of concrete apartment blocks, punctuated by the odd forested mountain, all linked by endless highways, leading towards the centre of the city; the Han River, itself criss-crossed by huge bridges. 23 million people live in the Metropolitan Seoul area, compared to just over a million in my hometown of Dublin. This change in urban scale was the real culture shock, not the language, nor the food, nor the culture, but the sheer size of the place. I lived nearly three years in the city, and when I returned to Dublin just before Christmas 2004, I suffered what can only be termed as ‘reverse culture shock’. The suburban neighbourhood I grew up in seemed bland,

T

empty, isolated. Where were all the people?

Where were the 24-hour internet cafes, the DVD rooms, the restaurants that delivered past 4am? Where was the crackling of neon, the music, the smells, the sounds of thousands of student salarymen and revelers? My street would go deathly quiet after 10pm, the odd dog bark and car engine aside.

Granted, I lived in a suburb of Dublin, but I was only 20 minutes from the city centre, and even there, everything seemed so small.

Seoul had hundreds of streets jammed with everything from saunas to karaoke rooms, baseball cages to Chinese restaurants, all open, all the time. Where I lived in Dublin had a chip shop (6pm-12am), a bus stop (average waiting time 45 minutes) and an approximation of a grocery store. It was, quite frankly, depressing.

No one else seemed to mind. The elderly woman who walked her dog every morning at 10am. The middle-aged women who speed walked around the estate every night before dusk. The returning commuters, the laughing school children; they all seemed fine with this suburban vision of life. I had been happy too, but of course that was before I had sampled the delights of a real city.

I resolved to get out as fast as possible, and six months later, I was in Dubai – not quite Seoul, but certainly not Dublin either. In the past seven years I have seen Dubai grow and build, expand and mature into the city it is today. It is only in Dubai (and certain megacities in China) that nostalgic ‘I remember when’ stories can refer to dates a mere five years previously.

Dublin now seems like a sedentary retired man, relaxed (and broke) in his old age, while Seoul still seems chaotic and wonderful. Dubai is harder to put a finger on, but it is certainly going somewhere, and part of the delight in this city is not knowing where it will end up.

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1010

Ngara West Ngara West Bernard Bernard Estate Estate

Ngara Ngara

Chiromo Chiromo Nairobi Nairobi Central Central

Kileleshwa Kileleshwa Kilimani Kilimani

CityCity Square Square

Hurlingham Hurlingham Estate Estate Kilimani Kilimani Estate Estate

nairobi 56

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Nairobi Nairobi Upper HillHill Upper Madanaka Madanaka Estate Estate

Ruaraka Ruaraka

Muthaiga Muthaiga

Mathare Mathare North Phase 5 5 North Phase Mathare Mathare Pioneer Pioneer Estate Estate Pangani Pangani

WWW.HG2.COM

Eastleigh Eastleigh North North

Kariokor Kariokor

Harambee Harambee

Majengo Kamukunji Kamukunji Majengo

Jerusalem Jerusalem Makongeni Makongeni

Kariba Kariba Maisha Maisha

Mbotela Mbotela

HoTELS 1. Nairobi Serena Hotel 2. Tribe Hotel 3. InterContinental Hotel 4. Hilton Nairobi rESTAUrANTS 5. Ronalo’s Food 6. Tamarind Restaurant 7. Amaica Restaurant 8.Mediteranno Restaurant bArS / CLUbS 9. Gipsy Bar 10. Mercury 11. Galileo Lounge 12. Black Diamond

Viwandani Viwandani Hazina Hazina Estate Estate

Nairobi is beginning to blossom. Once the capital of British East Africa, the city saw heavy modernisation after independence in 1963, but still maintains some traditions of old: high tea and breezy terrace bars; historic hotels and lush private gardens. And the city surprise – it boasts fantastic Indian food (a remnant of turn-of-thecentury railway labourers), a leisurely café culture and a range of international cuisine. You may go to Nairobi for the national wildlife parks, but you’ll stay for the underground art and eclectic food.

GALLEriES 13. The GoDown Arts Centre 14. Rahimtulla Museum of Modern Art 15. Nairobi National Museum 16. Gallery Watatu 57

mapped NAirobi

hotels 1 nairobi serena

hotel Serena’s ample business amenities, including hightech on-site conference centre and executive suites, attract corporate travellers, though gardens, pool, spa and salon are to hand for leisurely pursuits.

2 tribe hotel

3

Tribe Hotel is the essence of hospitality.

This stylish boutique not only provide 300 threadcount sheets, LCD TVs, complimentary mini-bar and high-speed internet, it is located in a modern village setting.

interContinental hotel Situated near the the Parliament buildings and Nairobi National Park.

The InterContinental also provides plenty of amenities, including a business centre, sauna and steam room.

4 hilton nairobi

amaiCa restaurant Western Kenyan cuisine is on offer at homely Amaica. Highlights include sour milk from a gourd, smoked beef and tilapia in a tomato, garlic, onion, and coriander sauce, and diners can eat with their hands.

8

At the centre of the business district, the Hilton Nairobi provides a business centre including meeting rooms and secretarial services. It also offers a fitness centre, aerobics, a heated pool, sauna, and massages.

restaurants 5 ronalo’s Food

A restaurant with a story – Ronalo started out making chapatis for construction workers, then built a neighbourhood shack and finally moved to the city centre, offering African dishes served in a simple, clean environment.

6 tamarind

restaurant Tamarind is an lovely seafood restaurant, with candles illuminating white tablecloths and dim overhead lighting.

Tamarind also offers a great selection of local and international wine.

7

mediteranno restaurant Mediterraneo is one of the few classic Italian restaurants in Nairobi, with a huge menu and great wine. The atmosphere is also Italian, with flowers and a sunny courtyard.

bars/Clubs 9 Gipsy bar

Gipsy Bar is a Nairobi club offering a steady stream of house and disco music, with a few 90s hits for good measure. Gipsy serve cocktails, a commendable whisky selection and a solid wine list, as well as burgers to rave about.

10 merCury

A sophisticated lounge with a sleek interior, Mercury offers a varied lineup of music including blues, jazz and other themed nights. Wall-towall sofas make a prime spot for sipping wine and chilling out.

11 Galileo lounGe

A classic lounge in white and red; swivel barstools, plush leather sofas inside and a ‘Winter Wonderland’ styled patio out the back. Galileo’s theme nights and its buzzing atmosphere attract the city’s elite.

12 blaCk diamond

Part dance club part karaoke bar, the DJ spins most nights, while others the club features live music. A balcony provides an area of fresh air, and a place to sip drinks until the wee hours away from the action.

Galleries 13 the Godown

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14 rahimtulla museum

arts Centre

oF modern art

Nairobi’s arts scene owes a lot to this converted warehouse, which houses 10 different studios where some of the city’s new artists work and sell. It also hosts performing arts, music and workshops.

Relocated to a spacious home on 2nd Parklands, it’s the most established modern art gallery in Nairobi, with a collection of contemporary African art, and a children’s gallery, sculpture garden and a performance space.

15 nairobi national

museum This museum is worth a visit for those interested in the history and culture of East Africa and Kenya in particular.

The museum comprises exhibitions on culture, natural history and some contemporary art.

16 Gallery watatu

Founded in 1968 by a group of African artists, Watatu established itself as an art hub and now exhibits a huge range of local artists and sculptors.

Frequented mostly by in-the-know expats and collectors, the gallery also hosts art-related events.

Woody Allen: Lost in the City WOODY AL L EN HAS CAPT U RE D THE UR B AN EXPER IENCE MOR E SUCCINCT LY T H AN ANY OT HER DIR ECTOR , ARGUES ADAM LEE DAVIES

H

e was as tough and romantic as the city he loved.

Behind his black-rimmed glasses was the coiled sexual power of a jungle cat. New York was his town, and it always would be…” Few modern artists have been so closely associated with any one city as comedian, actor and filmmaker Woody Allen. The very titles of his films – Manhattan Murder Mystery, Bullets Over Broadway, New York Stories, Broadway Danny Rose, Manhattan – tell of a long, enduring love affair with the Big Apple.

Unlike fellow New York directors Martin Scorsese and Sidney Lumet, Allen’s metropolis is not a boiling ethnic cauldron of violence and redemption, but an alchemical wonderland where magic lurks around every corner and

fortunes can change in a New York minute. Just recall the iconic moment during his signature film Manhattan when the Queensboro Bridge is transformed – courtesy of a Gershwin ditty and a little early morning mist – from a rusty hunk of everyday utilitarianism into an elusive urban dreamscape.

This city exists not as a melting pot but an illuminated and ever-shifting framework across which Allen’s characters scale the heights and plumb the depths of joy, love, success, celebrity and infamy. If Scorsese’s mean streets chronicle the ways in which the city rubs up against itself, Allen’s films take a wry look at how we might best attempt to iron out the subsequent wrinkles.

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All things good on this Earth flow toward the city, as Pericles once said, and Woody would seem to agree. His New York is hardly over-run with crack tenements, teen runaways and gun thugs, but is rather an ideal of the city as a place of tolerance, shared ideas and conjoined lives – and if there is an inexhaustible fund of Jewish mother-in-law jokes in the mix, then so much the better.

Indeed, you’d be some sort of sap not to live in the city. Merely step across the city limits and you risk slipping off the map entirely, as in Broadway Danny Rose when Allen, playing the titular theatrical impresario, finds himself marooned in the hinterlands of New Jersey. Allen paints the place as a bizarre, alien desert so full of hardships and trials that his journey back to Broadway makes Homer’s Odyssey look like a walk in the park.

In recent years, Woody has taken leave of his beloved New York for an extended European sojourn that has produced such successes as the London-set tennis/murder mash-up Match Point, Catalan romancer Vicky Christina Barcelona and the timesliding enchantment of Midnight in Paris. Just as with his hometown films, each city plays as big a part in the action as his characters do. London is portrayed as cold, mannered and indifferent to social climber Jonathan Rhys Meyers’ murderous ascent through the rungs of high society.

Barcelona is romantic, unpredictable and artistically nurturing, with the carnal sensuality of Gaudi and Miró and the city’s warm, relaxed atmosphere lulling American tourists (Scarlett Johansson and Rebecca Hall) into a four-ball with strutting painter (Javier Bardem) and his

A BRIEF HISTORY OF LOST CITIES Machu Picchu

1

If you ignore that fact that you’re probably cruising at around 35,000ft while reading this, you have to marvel at the sheer architectural brilliance of building this Inca city 8,000ft above Peru’s Urubamba Valley.

It was so well hidden that unlike other Inca cities it was not ‘rediscovered’ until 1911.

2

The fabled city supposedly sunk into the ocean in 9,600BC, which makes it just a few years older than its contemporary namesake on The Palm 62

Atlantis

Angkor

Dubai. According to the famed Greek philosopher/chronicler Plato, the once fearsome nautical stronghold sank into the ocean overnight after a botched attempt to invade Athens – bad losers, or what?

3

Once the resident digs of Cambodia’s god-king, the hundreds of breath-taking temples in Angkor now attract close to one million visitors, mainly bakcpacking Australians and Brits on a gap-year abroad. Built sometime in the 9th

Memphis

century, it is credited as being the largest preindustrial city in the world.

4

With alumni including Morgan Freeman, Aretha Franklin and 16-time wrestling champion Ric Flair, most cities would be overshadowed; however, Memphis, Tennessee, is not one of them. Sadly, the same cannot be said about the ancient Egyptian capital of the same name. In 2,250BC the city was the largest settlement in the world, before it wilted under the combined celebrity of Thebes and Persia.

gloriously unstable ex-wife (Penelope Cruz). Allen’s Paris, meanwhile, is confounding and a little treacherous; a city that has been through an awful lot down the years and knows better than to give all its secrets away at once, as Owen Wilson’s screenwriter discovers.

Allen’s outlook and approach towards city life has not always met with universal enthusiasm. The social and racial make-up of his films has sometimes been a sticking point for those who feel the relative lack of ethnic diversity and economic disparity make for a less than three dimensional portrait of the modern metropolis.

Cinematically there are occasional dissenters too. Few could deny the visual poetry of the opening moments of Manhattan, in which we are introduced to a waking New

Petra

5

Estimated to have been carved out of rock in 312BC, the stunning city of Petra in what is modern day Jordan remained unknown to the western world until 1812. Since then it has been lauded and awarded as a vital part of man’s cultural heritage and one of the places you have to see before you die.

Not bad for a hole in a wall.

6

Location, location, location – three key elements to look out for when buying property. Apparently

Pompeii

York in a sequence of monochromatic splendour. But Allen’s attempts to do the same for the City of Lights at the start of Midnight in Paris come off as little more than a hackneyed picture-postcard travelogue.

But as fruitful as many of Allen’s European adventures have proved, they have sometimes felt a little anonymous, as if he’s not sure enough of his surroundings to truly express himself as either a writer or director.

A return to home turf for 2009’s excellent Whatever Works starring Larry David produced something that was not only far more recognisable as a Woody Allen film but also recalled the nebbish, cantankerous, brazen best of his revered 1970’s New York classics. New York, after all, is his town, and it always will be.

no one mentioned this real estate maxim to the ancient Roman city planners who viewed the volcanic slopes of Mount Vesuvius as ‘a good spot’ to build the city of Pompeii.

7

Camelot

Xanadu

Historically speaking, Mongolians make for some fearful leaders.

Take Kublai Khan for example; leading an army of horseback Mongols, this 13th-century leader would go on to conquer the equivalent of present-day Mongolia, China and Korea. But perhaps his most lasting impact was

building the ancient garden city of Xanadu, which once hosted Italian adventurer Marco Polo.

8

There isn’t a great deal of solid fact to base the existence of King Arthur’s alleged city. While there are a few historians who continue to harp on about its existence, these arguments usually fall into the ‘complete rubbish’ camp. Our best research (read: Monty Python and the Holy Grail) tells us that they needn’t have bothered – ‘tis a silly place.

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MY TRAVELLED LIFE EDWARD GLAESER, AUTHOR, 45

entrepreneur who wants to spend ten years.

ON URBAN ECONOMISTS

ON FAVOURITE CITIES

And it’s those entrepreneurs who will make

Traditionally, urban economists have focused

It is hard to argue that Singapore’s not the

the difference in the long run. One of the things

on two different issues: the functioning of

best-run place on the planet in terms of the

that is most important about cities is that they

housing market real estate and secondly,

function of the city, but personally I prefer

are gateways across oceans and continents.

what makes cities so economically

a little more chaos in my urban living. That

That’s why travel infrastructure is so important.

productive. What makes cities so vibrant?

certainly pushes me a little bit more towards

It enables the human interaction which is the

What makes them places of innovation and

Hong Kong, relative to Singapore. I love the

lifeblood of cities to occur across continents.

economic strength?

verticality of Hong Kong, I love the mass of humanity. I am also very much in love with Bruges. It hasn’t had a lot going on in the last

ON AMERICANS

ON HIS BOOK

five centuries, but it was the hub of urban

While it’s true Americans are comfortable

My book Triumph Of The City is an attempt

Europe 600 years ago.

moving to new cities within America, we do

to try and teach the things that I think that

tend to vacation within the US. There are a

I have learned over 22 years of studying the

remarkable number of Americans who don’t

subject [of cities] to as wide an audience as

ON TRAVEL

have a passport. America has to get used

possible. It’s my hope that a general audience

The same things that attract a tourist to

to being a smaller share of the world. and a

will find the book interesting, but my broader

want to spend two weeks in a city attract an

vacation is not just fun, it’s educating.

objective is getting people thinking about how important cities are to humanity and to our future.

ON DUBAI It seems that HH Sheikh Mohammed sees that to really succeed as a hub of the region, in the future Dubai has to be an exciting place to live as well as to work. It needs to be what I call a consumer city, a place that people look forward to going to. Populations are mobile, smart people can live in any place, and for Dubai to live out the whole dream it needs to be a consumer city as well as a place of production.

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graph information elegance

DUBAI

Jumeirah Village

Al Barari

Dubai Airport Control Tower

Etisalat Tower The Burj Khalifa

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illustrations from Dubai graphic encyclopeDia, www.brusselssprout.org

Dubai Investment Park

Atlantis The Palm

Palm Jumeirah

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place •

APARTMENTS •

H O N G KO N G

PHOTO: KELLY CHENG

A RC H I T E C T U R E M APPED

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store U R BA N C ARTO G RA P H Y

• SOWETO

•

et amid the dusty, bone-dry hustle of the suburb of Jabulani, the new Soweto Theatre has a hip incongruity to it. Getting there is a meandering route from the southern edge of Jozi, and you cruise past face-brick homes where you can buy air-time for mobile phones from the back yard. There’s a glimpse of the Regina Mundi Catholic Church and stray goats unperturbed by the traffic. A long line of fruit sellers has set up shop opposite the Jabulani Hospital, and suddenly it’s right up ahead – three bright blocks of over- scaled Lego, shimmering in the Highveld sun.

“It’s definitely got a dual personality,” says architect Sergio Duarte of Afritects, the firm who created the space in consultation with renowned theatre design specialist Denis Hutchinson.

“It was proposed as one of several legacy projects for the 2010 World Cup, and our brief was a high-spec, sophisticated building that involved and engaged the local community. In an area with few public buildings, we wanted to achieve something world class yet completely accessible.” Part of a long term urban regeneration plan, the theatre lies at the heart of a burgeoning retail and residential precinct.

With its dramatic canopy tents framing the front entrance, the theatre beckons at street level. “The outdoor tented foyer is immediately welcoming and says a lot about our climate and style of entertaining,” says Sergio. “We wanted to free up the three individual theatres, and rather than a monolithic auditorium space, each space is viewable from the surrounding suburb.” The round-edged boxes are clad in ceramic tiles laid in a zig zag of matt and sheen. From a distance they’re sunshiny and gleaming; up close they’ve got a pixellated edginess that’s just very cool.

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SOUTH AFRICA

•

THEATRE

TexT: Tess PaTerson

“Colour is endemic to Soweto,” he adds, “so we really dialed it up, injecting the positivity of red, yellow and blue. Some of the construction methods, like the steel shingle cladding on the buttress wall, were a first in South Africa. We pushed the boundaries, but Soweto’s open to that.

“Our thinking was that neither the building nor the community should feel out of place, and at night, when you look inside and that red box is glowing behind the glass wall, it’s pure magic.”

Practically, the theatres are surprisingly intimate, ranging from a 90-seater that’s just perfect for stand-up comedy or storytelling, to the 436-seater red box where SA idols has just announced its 2012 winner.

On a budget of $17 million, Soweto has landed itself a cutting-edge performance space that would be right at home in the West End. “It’s arguably the most exciting thing that’s happened to South African theatre in decades,” says Denis Hutchinson.

“The reality is that previously audiences could get to theatres in Joburg, but there was simply no transport to get them home. Now the theatre has come to Soweto, and that accessibility makes it truly transformational.”

Since its opening in May, the theatre has sold out to musical legends Judith Sephuma, Salif Keita and Zakes Bantwini.

“Idols certainly put the theatre on the map, but in addition to concerts we’re looking at staging pure theatre,” says marketing manager Saskia Goldberg. October’s lineup includes the Soweto Comedy Festival, and in November there’s the unmissable tribute to Miriam Makeba. If you’re heading to Jozi be sure to add this iconic building to your list of places to visit. As theatres go it’s a triumphant space – sleek, edgy, functional and in your face. Very much like its home town.

The Soweto Theatre +27 (0)11 674 1357.

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main P. 74 • THE NEIGHBOURHOOD GUIDE

P. 94 • GANGNAM STYLE

P. 116 • BARBICAN LEGACY P. 128 • THE MAYOR LIST

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The Neighbourhood Guide A guide to the best (and most surprising) neighbourhoods in the world

r o f t s be h b eac g livin LEBLON RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL

It may seem surprising to ignore Copacabana when talking about beach living, particularly when we have chosen a Rio neighbourhood as the best beach neighbourhood in the world. But, as anyone who has been to Rio knows, Copacabana is well past its prime, and even Ipanema, Leblon’s adjacent neighbourhood, has little of the charm that Leblon has.

Buttressed on one side by the Atlantic Ocean, and with a large lake and botanical garden (the Lagoa) on the other, the area’s positioning is magnificent. The streets are full of boutiques, vintage shops and upmarket stores, creating a nice mix of high style and lo-fi. The whole neighbourhood is dotted with tiny hole-in-the-wall bars that serve ice-cold beer and tapas-style meat snacks. When local football club Fluminense is playing, these locals come alive with singing, cheering fans.

Back in the 1970s, Leblon used to be the nightlife centre, and while it’s a lot calmer nowadays, there are plenty of late-night bars and clubs that attract Rio’s wealthiest and most beautiful.

Indeed, the whole neighbourhood manages to do what few areas can: mix

wealthy residents and high-end living with a retro, homely feel.

The tree-lined streets remind the visitor of the south of France, or neighbouring Buenos Aires, but if you want to remember where you are, you just need to head east, towards the beach.

The beach in Leblon is a mixture of a community centre, sports field, club, spa and country club. Everyone goes to the beach, and this generational and racial mix of visitors is part of the reason why it’s so special. The other reason is the scener y. Dos Irmãos mountain juts out magnificently on the southern end of the beach, its green slopes piercing the (usually) blue skies.

The beaches in Rio are signposted by postos – flags that denote which

part of the beach you are on. Various groups congregate at the different postos, and it’s a good way to figure out where you want to spend the day.

Leblon’s beach has two postos – 10 and 11. Posto 10 attracts beach-sports lovers, and its always full of footballers and frescoball players.

Posto 11 is more family orientated and is quieter. Both areas feature the golden soft sand and the deep (and sometimes treacherous) waters of the Atlantic. The beach is lined with a walking and cycling track, which stretches 20km to the end of the Copacabana beach, a circuit that many Cariocas (locals) run, walk or cycle every morning. But Leblon is so appealing, you may never want to leave.

Neighbourhood: Population: Public transport: Distance from airport: 1-bed apartment price: Why you should go: What could be improved:

Leblon 120,000 Bus, subway 23 kilometres $600.000 Sea, sand, shopping More English signage

the urban issue 77

r o f t s be e v i t a cre living MERCHANT CITY GLASGOW, SCOTLAND

Unknown to most tourists due to being overshadowed by neighbouring Edinburgh (it has the castle), Glasgow has boundless hidden treasures and is a real gem in Scotland’s crown. The city is filled with creative flair and energy, mainly due to the low cost of living and a high student population.

Most art galleries are free to the public and there is always a fashion pop-up or exhibition opening from one week to the next.

Despite Glasgow’s West End having the reputation for creative cool, east of the city centre, Merchant City has a gritty mix of hardened locals alongside artist residents. This makes for a perfect juxtaposition, resulting in raw energy few other cities can match.

Merchant City boasts great independent shopping, with two of our favourite stores in the UK located there.

For affordable vintage, you don’t get much better than Mr Ben’s on Kings Court, which has rack after rack of a curated selection of products including quality Scottish knitwear and tailoring at low prices. Just a block away is Niche Optical Tailor, an eyewear store with

the some of the best customer service in the country. All employees have an incredible technical knowledge as well as boundless personal style.

For hair styling, Bowers and Peacock on King Street not only has the best stylists in the area but is worth passing by just to see the superb interior, filled with vintage furniture and designs by Timorous Beasties. Don’t miss their home made brownies and of course, great Glasgow banter.

The best independent record store in Glasgow can be found inside vegetarian restaurant MONO. Nestled in the corner of Kings Court, MONO’s home made meals are delicious and it often has live music in the evenings - this is the place where Franz Ferdinand and

Travis cut their teeth back in the day.

Superb coffee and the freshest fish in the west can be found on the same street: Ingram Street. Cafe Gandolfi and Gandolfi Fish were founded when the area was still rather sketchy, and lasting the test of time is a true testament to their quality.

If you’re planning a trip to Glasgow, it’s worth keeping an eye out for styling pop-up event ‘Bold Souls’ run by Chouchou’s Silvia Pellegrino.

Usually found in a cool corner of the city, it showcases some of the best independent Scottish designers and is really the only event of it’s kind. Search Facebook for details and times. And leave your preconceptions at home, Glasgow is definitely changing.

Neighbourhood: Population: Public transport: Distance from airport: 1-bed apartment price: Why you should go: What could be improved:

Merchant city 200,000 Underground, bus, train 13 kilometres $350,000 Diverse arts, fashion, culture Later opening times

the urban issue 79

r o f t s e b l a c i s mu g n i v i l HERNALS VIENNA, AUSTRIA

Set in the leafy suburbs of west Vienna, Hernals is one of the greenest suburbs of the city, with nearly half of the area made up of forestland. Despite its pastoral feel, Hernals has a vibrant music scene and with a new concert hall, set inside Das Gschwandner, a converted wine tavern, due to open in early 2014, the area will soon be planted firmly on the European cultural map.

Das Gschwandner will feature everything from experimental music and performance arts, as well as live music and traditional opera, in a cuttingedge space at the heart of the district.

Originally founded in 1838 by Johann Gschwandner, a Viennese vintner, the venue was expanded in 1877, and with its huge dance hall became the Grand Etablissement Gschwandner – the beginning of a long Austrian tradition of hosting legendary Viennese balls for the bourgeoisie.

In 1960, the venue was closed, however, and served as storage for props and costumes until recently. Its current owners, the real estate development company JP Immobilien, are going to establish the new Gschwandner

as a thriving cultural centre in Hernals with the aim of connecting the area to its past. There are also plenty of other venues in the area to enjoy after the sun goes down, proving that Vienna’s reputation as one of the coolest cities in Europe is not undeserved.

Just a few blocks away, those who want to enjoy a night out at a musical should visit the Metropol Wien, one of the city’s oldest musical theatres, with high-quality in-house productions. The building also dates back to the 19th century, when the former stable of a bakery was converted to a small ballroom.

Today, with its 700-seat auditorium and wide stage, the Metropol Wien offers all the comforts of a modern entertainment venue. Its lavish buffet-

type restaurant, however, is only open to those attending performances. For those with a love of alternative music the Jetzt bar is the place to go. Popular not only with students, the venue has daily DJs who play everything from afro jazz to punk – and is usually open until 4 am in the morning.

Although Vienna is cracking down on restaurants and bars to ban smoking, Jetzt bar is proud of its ‘smoky’ atmosphere. With space for around 80 people, it still offers an intimate setting for a lively night out: a dance floor with an artistic touch.

Vienna, and more specifically, Hernals, might not be on most people’s radar, but it’s one of Europe’s best destinations for those who love music.

Neighbourhood: Population: Public transport: Distance from airport: 1-bed apartment price: Why you should go: What could be improved:

Hernals 53,000 Metro, tram, bus 21 kilometres $210,000 Eclectic music and culture Better public transport to the city centre

the urban issue

81

r o f t s be y l i m a f living BLACKBURN MELBOURNE, AUSTRALIA

Waking to the cackle of kookaburras in backyard gum trees is a regular treat for Blackburn residents, who live just 16 kilometres from Melbourne’s centre. Spring days are also peppered with the tweets of magpies raising their chicks, while summer sees the bellbirds that give the suburb its nickname in full voice.

Blackburn is known for its greenery, amenities and proximity to all that Melbourne has to offer. Many residents have gum trees and native plants in their gardens and can stroll to Blackburn Lake Sanctuary, an Australian bush oasis painted by noted 19th century artists like Frederick McCubbin. They can also ride or jog the creek-lined bike paths.

With strict building controls, Blackburn’s central Bellbird area is known for large, lush green areas perfect for families. Yet it is close to public transport, all amenities and tourist attractions. In recent years, the suburb’s established eateries, including the legendary Bonjour De France patisserie (126 South Parade) and Gourmet Girl café (21 Salisbury Ave) have been joined by the likes of The Twig & Two

Berries (5 Salisbury Ave) and Nuts about Coffee (80 South Parade).

Next door to Blackburn is cosmopolitan Box Hill, where almost one in four residents was born in China. It boasts a plethora of reasonably priced restaurants offering Chinese, Malaysian, Korean, Vietnamese, Thai, Indian and Greek cuisine, among others.

Mov ing around Blackbur n is a breeze, with wide roads and regular public transport. Express trains to the centre of the city take 20-25 minutes; in the other direction is Belgrave’s famous Puffing Billy steam train. The Chadstone shopping centre is about 20 minutes’ drive and Melbourne Zoo takes about 30 minutes.

Pin Oak Court, where iconic TV show Neighbours is filmed, is just six kilometres and 12 minutes’ drive away in Vermont South.

Blackburn is in the City of Whitehorse, where a third of households

are couples with children. The community is culturally diverse, with Australia’s 2011 census revealing one third of residents were born overseas.

The top five countries of origin are China, the United Kingdom, India, Malaysia and Vietnam.

Whitehorse residents enjoy excellent amenities such as top government schools, cultural centres, swimming pools, sports ovals and events, including the annual Chinese New Year Festival, Australia Day celebrations, Spring Festival and Carols By Candlelight. Sporting clubs are popular and allow families to meet and socialise, often outdoors in the Australian sun.

Apart from new eateries and some new commercial buildings, Blackburn has hardly changed in 20 years, which is part of its charm. Many of the suburb’s homes are protected from overdevelopment, so it has retained its small town feel.

Neighbourhood: Population: Public transport: Distance from airport: 1-bed apartment price: Why you should go: What could be improved:

Blackburn 13,000 Trains, buses, trams 42 kilometres $600,000 Friendly, lots of parks, easy to More diversity in retail and cafe offerings

the urban issue 83

b est for al ur t c e t i h arc li v in g OLD CITY SANA’A, YEMEN

Of all the cities in the world that have a unique architectural style – none does it with a more with a more surprising coherency than Sanaa’s Old City. Its chocolate-box architecture; the multi-storeyed houses made out of brick and rammed earth with intricate designs, have stood the test of time, many having been built before the 11th century. They are decorated with elaborate friezes and intricately carved frames and stained glass windows, creating a stunning, architectural museum.

Because of the narrowness of the alleyways and the height of the buildings, the streets themselves change colour throughout the day, culminating in the ‘golden hour’ just before sunset when the whole cit y turns shades of pink, purple and red.

The Old C it y b oa s t s ove r 10 0 mosques, 12 hammams (bath houses) and 6,500 houses, all infused with the unique Yemeni aesthetic. The houses themselves often contain small, leafy courtyards, perfect for sipping the local tea and chatting to fellow visitors.

And there are visitors, despite Yem-

en’s less than savoury reputation: the Old City is quite safe – the locals are extremely friendly, and any trouble is largely confined to provinces away from the capital.

In fact, the Old City has long attracted writers, Arabic language students and travellers looking for somewhere to rest for a couple of months with its elevated setting keeping the weather relatively cool, as least compared to the rest of the region.

The Old Town’s jumble of narrow streets and lanes and bustling markets is lined by breathtaking cit y walls. One of the most popular attractions is Suq al-Milh (The salt market), where it is possible to buy not only salt but also bread, spices, raisins, cotton,

copper, pottery, silverware, antiques (both fake and real) and, formerly, slaves. The majestic seventh-century al-Jami’ al-Kabir (Great Mosque) is one of the oldest in the Muslim world.

The Bâb al-Yaman (Yemen Gate) is the main entry point through the city walls and is more than 700 years old.

Go further back and you will discover that the city was founded by Shem, the son of Noah – just another layer of myth and reality that the city is built on, and yet another reason to love this gem at the heart of Arabia.

So, we advise you to leave your preconceptions at home and give Sana’a and the Old City a try: it may just surprise and delight. Oh, and don’t forget to take your camera.

Neighbourhood: Population: Public transport: Distance from airport: 1-bed apartment price: Why you should go: What could be improved:

Old City 190,000 None 10 kilometres $40,000 The heritage, the atmosphere Better sanitary conditions

the urban issue 85

r o f t s be y r a n culi ng livi HARLEM NEW YORK CITY, USA

The neighbourhood of Harlem in North Manhattan was founded by Dutch settlers in 1658, but following the Great Migration of workers from the Southern States which began in the early 20th century, and the Harlem Renaissance driven by cultural luminaries such as musicians Fats Waller and Duke Ellington and the writer Langston Hughes in 1920s, it has been the centre of black American culture.

In 2008 blacks still made up 41 per cent of the neighbourhood’s population, and Harlem has thankfully retained its African American identity while starting to build a more diverse community and beginning the slow process of gentrification.

Despite New York Magazine placing Harlem at 50 on its ‘The Best Place To Live In NYC’ index in 2010, citing high crime and poor public schools, in the same year real estate blog Curbed named Harlem’s famous Fredrick Douglass Boulevard (FDB) its ‘Neighbourhood of the Year,’ an event that the Financial Times argued “mirrors a larger shift in Harlem’s economic a demographic development.”

Not h i n g s y m b ol i s e s H a rle m’s regeneration better than what resident Swedish-Ethiopian chef and restaurateur, and owner of the much talked about Harlem “neo-soul food” restaurant Red Rooster, Marcus Samuellson, has dubbed Harlem’s ‘food revolution’.

GQ restaurant critic Alan Richman sang the praises of traditional soul food joints such as Charles Southern Style Kitchen on FDB in his 2001 article Pardon Us, Bubba , but it is Samuellson who has been leading the charge since the opening of his restaurant in Harlem in 2010, cooking for President Obama’s first state dinner in 2009 and using his new found fame to promote Harlem’s burgeoning food scene through numerous television shows like Food Network’s Savoring Harlem , which aired earlier this year.

Today, Harlem boasts restaurants ranging from institutions like Sylvia’s – the Lenox Avenue restaurant serving soul food staples such a corn bread, fried chicken and collard greens, which until her death earlier this year was run by Sylvia ‘queen of soul food’ Woods herself – to Samuellson’s more contemporary Red Rooster. Culinary culture has also extended beyond traditional African American cuisine with popular establishments like beer and burger joint the Harlem Tavern and the Hudson River Café, with its feted Latin seasonal menu, appearing on FDB and West 133rd Street respectively.

As Marcus Samuellson himself declared in a Huffington Post blog earlier this year, “Harlem is alive and thriving, more so now than ever before, and in many cases food is at the center of Harlem’s new economic growth.”

Neighbourhood: Population: Public transport: Distance from airport: 1-bed apartment price: Why you should go: What could be improved:

Harlem 362,000 Subway, bus, train 10 kilometres $400,000 Rich cultural history Crime rates could be lowered

the urban issue 87

r o f t s b e ra l natu g livin CENTRAL HONG KONG Hong Kong. One of the most densely populated urban landscapes in the world, a financial, trading and logistical hub, and one of the Pacific Rim’s economic powerhouses. Hardly, then, a place where you expect to find a neighbourhood with access to more than 100 kilometres of hiking trails; hidden oases with waterfalls, lakes, secret beaches and tiny, deserted islands. But, Hong Kong’s Central district lies adjacent to some of the best urban trekking in Asia, if not the world, and unlike other Asian cities (Seoul, for example), where the trails are always packed, it’s possible to hike for miles without coming across another soul, remarkable, given the urban sprawl of Hong Kong lies a few kilometres down the hillside.

One of the easiest hikes to try is the Peak Circle Walk – the Peak is the vantage point where all those spectacular shots of the Hong Kong skyline are taken. The image is well known, but less recognised is what lies on the other side of the Peak: miles of forest, reservoirs and trails that lead gently down through Pok Fu Lam Country Park to

Aberdeen. It is possible to walk from Central MTR station to the Peak, and, from there access all of Hong Kong Island’s natural wonders. It is somewhat less taxing to get the famous Peak Tram to the top, or get bus 15 from Exchange Square Terminus.

Central itself is probably Hong Kong’s most cosmopolitan district, with hundreds of restaurants, galleries, bars, clubs and cultural events.

If you want to get farther away from Central than the Peak, then Dragon’s Back is probably the hike for you.

Voted Asia’s best urban hike by Time magazine, the Dragon’s Back winds across Shek O Country Park’s windswept ridges, all of which give stunning views across Clearwater Bay and

out to the South China Sea. As this one of the more remote parts of the Hong Kong Trail, you will need to go to Shau Kei Wan MTR station and take minibus number 9. The journey is worth it however, and if all you have experienced of Hong Kong is city life, prepare to be shocked by its remoteness.

Another aspect of the trekking here, is the many plaques erected to the battles fought on these hills between the Japanese and the British defenders of the island during World War II. Also dotted among the forests are Buddhist shrines, beautifully set against the greenery. Central may be the city’s most desirable neighbourhood, but it’s the nature that keeps us coming back.

Neighbourhood: Population: Public transport: Distance from airport: 1-bed apartment price: Why you should go: What could be improved:

Central 280,000 Buses, trams, metro 30 kilometres $400,000 The city and nature as one Rent is still very high

the urban issue 89

r o f t s b e ra l c u l t un g livi ROSEBANK

JOHANNESBURG, SOUTH AFRICA

The neighbourhood of Rosebank embodies a gentler, leafier, more creative and business-savvy side of Johannesburg than you’ve probably read about in the headlines. A decade ago the mixed retail and residential area was starting to fall prey to urban decay, but the redevelopment of the mall and surrounding offices, tighter policing, and the advent of the Gautrain have all contributed to its rejuvenation.

Rosebank ’s character is defined not so much by the people who live there (though a mix of yuppies, ‘buppies,’ and creative types are moving in, slowly replacing an older generation of inhabitants), but by those who work and hang out in the area. If you pop in for a cappuccino at Motherland (motherlandcoffee.com) at the Rosebank Mall & Zone, you’ll be surrounded by hardened journalists, upstart entrepreneurs, and established business people, all cutting deals while getting in their caffeine fix. The shopping centre boasts a plethora of tasty outdoor eateries (Tasha’s, tashas.co.za, is a good place to start), and prices are cheap if you’re paying in dollars.

The mall also hosts the African Craft Market, a must-visit – and must-buy!

Intricate Ivorian masks, traditional Zimbabwean soapstone carvings, and colourful Ashanti cloth from Ghana are just a sample of the many offerings.

Don’t forget to pick up a ‘Madiba’ shirt, and some local beadwork as South African souvenirs. The market is a lot cleaner and less overwhelming than a typical African market, but bargaining for the best price is still part of the deal.

Away from the mall, Rosebank’s avenues are lined with leafy trees and, amid nature, creativity has space to bloom, as the area is also home to several of the city’s foremost art galleries.

Circa on Jellicoe (circaonjellicoe.co.za) is a work of sculptured architecture in

its own right – entering the core exhibition space is an introspective journey towards calmness, as slowly the sounds of outside traffic dissipate, and you end up in a safe, inspiring, womb-like room.

On busy Jan Smuts Avenue, the Goodman Gallery (goodman-gallery.com) is a well-established force in the contemporary South African art world.

Currently showing (until December 14, 2012) is On the Mines an exhibition to mark the reissue of photographer David Goldblatt’s seminal 1973 book.

And if you’re a William Kentridge fan, head across the road to David Krut Projects (davidkrutprojects.com), a gallery cum bookshop where you can snap up a print or two by the internationally acclaimed artist.

Neighbourhood: Population: Public transport: Distance from airport: 1-bed apartment price: Why you should go: What could be improved:

Rosebank 28,000 Train 40 kilometres $135,000 Relaxing but very cultured Crime is an issue

the urban issue

91

LEBLON

HERNALS

OLD CITY

CENTRAL

Beautiful, well off locals and stunning scenery make this little slice of Rio one of the most appealing neighbourhoods in South America.

Spearheaded by a cutting-edge new venue, this Vienna suburb is in the middle of an underground music renaissance

Sana’a’s old heart is an historical and architectural gem, filled with delightful chocolate-box house and friendly locals.

It’s location beside some of Asia’s most stunning hiking trails, means this is a surprising choice for nature lovers.

MERCHANT CITY BLACKBURN

HARLEM

ROSEBANK

Filled with creative flair, free galleries and fashion pop-ups, Merchant City generates a raw British, energy.

Its heritage, its Manhattan location, low house prices and a burgeoning restaurant scene are helping Harlem’s reputation.

The redevelopment of leafy Rosebank over the past decade has made it a magnet for gallerists and entrepreneurs.

Glasgow: Jonathan Pryce Vienna: Matthias Wurz Melbourne: Cheryl Chritchly Johannesburg: Theresa Mallinson 92 the urban issue

Safe, accessible and cosmopolitan – Blackburn’s proximity to both the outdoors and to Melbourne’s CBD makes it ideal.

just where is gangnam and what exactly is gangnam style?

a tour of seoul’s most famous (and most infamous) neighbourhood by robert michael poole

the real gangnam style / the urban issue 95

U

ntil just a few decades ago, the 794AD Bongeun Temple, focal point of Korean zen from 1551 until 1936, stood gracefully – and isolated – on the banks of the Han, south of the river – Gang Nam. Entombed inside this outpost of the ancient city of Seoul, time worn woodblock carvings of the Buddhist Flower Garland Sutra describe the interdependency of all phenomena in a cosmos of infinite realms upon realms.

To this day, visitors and pilgrims come to find harmony with the monks who dwell here. Yet now, in 2012, it’s not flowers that have bloomed into riches in the glamorous namesake realm of Gangnam – it’s Koreans themselves. And now they want to shout about it to the world.

Not that, at the moment, they have to. The world is doing most of the shouting, thanks to a 34-year-old called Park Jaesang, better known as Psy. His track, Gangnam Style , has redefined what ‘viral’ means in 2012, and has turned an upmarket southern seoul suburb into a cultural phenomenon. The irony – lost on most of the video’s 766 million YouTube viewers – is that Psy, far from lionising ‘Gangnam style,’ is mocking it.

To understand why, you have to go back to the early eighties, when Gangnam’s growth spurt began, when the government planned a new business hub south of the Han River, which divides Seoul into its north and south.

Spurred by the 1988 Seoul Olympics and a land grab for real estate that coincided with rapid growth of the Korean economy, Gangnam has risen from a backwater to a gleaming live showcase of art, fashion, culture, cuisine and business.

Even before you arrive, Gangnam is showing off. The moonlight rainbow

fountain sprays illuminated waters over 1 kilometre alongside the Banpo Bridge as you cross from the old north into Greater Gangnam, comprising Seocho, Songpa and Gangnam districts. Despite comprising just three of Seoul’s 25 gus, the region hosts nearly 10 per cent of the value of the entire country’s real estate. Gangnam-gu alone covers some 40 square kilometres, big enough to be its own city. But only the wealthiest can actually afford to live here.

Indeed, the neighbourhood is home to $84 billion of the country’s wealth or seven per cent of the country’s GDP in an area (central Gangnam) that is no bigger than 15 square miles.

Nicknamed the Beverly Hills of Seoul (with its own Rodeo Street to boot), average apartment costs are double the average of the rest of the city, at around $10,000 per square metre and rising. The 530,000 residents who have moved in are a blend of businessmen, entrepreneurs, creators, socialites and pop stars. And big business is booming.

International corporate giants such as Google, Samsung, Toyota and IBM all have offices here, and the Seoul Metropolitan Government estimates than over half of Korea’s venture capital – some US$200 million – is invested in Teheran Valley – a colloquial reference to Silicon Valley for Teheran-ro, the huge central boulevard lined with skyscrapers, TV screens and neon lights.

At 3.5km long, Teheran-ro is also a useful orientation point. Named way back in 1976 when the Mayor of Iran’s capital paid a visit to the underdeveloped region, Tehran gained its own Seoul street in return. Today this cornucopia of commerce splits Gangnam into a burgeoning south side, and the wealthiest, culture-rich northern suburbs of Sinsa, Apgujeong and Cheongdam.

“ The word that best signifies a ‘symbol of wealth’ now is ‘Cheongdam-Dong,’” says singer Sohyun of K-Pop unit 4Minute. “’Gangnam’ was the byword for the starting place of fashion trends, but now that idea has come to embrace much more.”

The Korean culture wave, bursting with soap operas, movies, fashion and music, soaked Asia before recently breaking on international shores, and emerged primarily from upscale Apgujeong and Cheongdam, districts on the northern edge of Gangnam.

From the tail end of 2012 until 2015, Gangnam-gu office plans to revamp Apgujeong-ro 79, packed with teeming recording studios and poster-clad artist management offices, into a newly named K-Pop Street in honour of its impact. The 1.1-kilometre-long curved road that runs from the headquarters of entertainment giant SM all the way to Cheongdam intersection is also set to gain a ‘K-Pop Square’ for concerts, an indication of the continued investment in Korea’s cultural soft power.

And it’s this soft power that is most in evidence with all those hundreds of millions of YouTube views. No tourism campaign could hope to come close to the global impact the video has had. For 4Minute’s Hyun-A, the video’s female lead, it highlighted Gangnam’s innate versatility. “Gangnam Style had its focus on the people rather than the place itself,” she explains. As well as depicting a regular Joe’s desire to become a Gangnamer as a backhanded compliment, “It showed that fans are confident to enjoy and accept K-Pop for what it is.”

K-Pop has long been an irony-free zone, so the fact that video has been its most successful export, is somewhat, well, ironic. As Adrian Hong, a Korean-American consultant told

The Atlantic earlier this year, “Ko-

reans have been kind of caught up in this spending to look wealthy, and Gangnam has really been the leading edge of that,” Hong said. “I think a lot of what Psy is pointing out is how silly that is. The whole video is about him thinking he’s a hotshot but then realising he’s just, you know, at a children’s playground, or thinking he’s playing polo or something and realizes he’s on a merry-go-round.”

All the members of 4Minute now reside in Gangnam, icons of the nouveau-riche lifestyle. Heo-Gayoon, 22 years old, even earned the nickname ‘Gangnam Lady’ and became the focus of attention Korea for the brand names and price of clothes she choose.

“I often wore limited edition items and when photos hit the media, the public took a tremendous interest in which designer brands I was wearing. For

THE WHOLE VIDEO IS ABOUT HIM THINKING HE IS A HOTSHOT BUT THEN REALISING HE’S AT A CHILDREN’S PLAYGROUND that alone I was instantly perceived as a fashionista and wealthy resident of Gangnam,” she says.

Yet due to its drastic rise in population and popularity, few Gangnamers were actually born in the area, rather

they congregated from all around the country, creating a curious blend of back grou nds. “I was liv ing in Incheon,” says 4Minute’s Ji-Hyun. “I had a luxurious image of Gangnam, that it was much bigger, had prettier people and was the centre of fashion.

But it was just an image, I had never been,” she says. Having moved at age 20, her impressions defied expectations once she became a resident.

“Now that I live here, it has become essential to my life. It’s not just that it’s luxurious… it’s an actual lifestyle,” she says.

For other South Koreans, particularly those outside the top 1 per cent, the feeling is less prosaic. Says Hong: “I think it all ties back to the same thing: the pursuit of materialism, the pursuit of form over function.

Koreans made extraordinary gains

THE REAL GANGNAM STYLE / THE URBAN ISSUE 97

as a countr y, in terms of GDP and everything else, but that growth has not been equitable. I think the young people are finally realizing that.

There’s a genuine backlash. You’re seeing a huge amount of resentment from youth about their economic circumstances.”

Yet where there is money, often there is culture, and Gangnam’s residents have created their own artistic hub: Garosugil, a short and leafy street in the north-western suburb of Sinsa, first came to attention in the early 1980s when Gallery Yeh opened its doors.

Now the ginkgo-lined avenue is a cradle for independent boutiques, coffee shops and art houses exhibiting works by the city’s best artists. “To some Garosugil is a workplace, and to some it is a place to chill out in the

big city,” says Hyun-A. But most of all, “It’s where all the fashionable people hang out.” Similar to New York’s SoHo, Garosugil grew up around art and antiques, eventually establishing its own style in the 1990s as ‘designer street,’ where budding new clothes designers launch their fledgling brands.

Encapsulating the creative spirit is one of Garosugil’s most striking outlets, Youk Shim Won Gallery AM, where the artist’s bright and vivid paintings of young women are not just framed for viewing, but adorn a range of suitcases, bags, cushions and even shoes. “So many kinds of people gather in this area that it forces it to move faster and faster, with fashion, food and so many other things,” says Youk Shim Won. “Garosugil represents the most modern trend of Seoul for the present age.”

WHERE THERE IS MONEY THERE IS OFTEN CULTURE AS WELL, AND GANGNAM HAS PLENTY OF BOTH What makes Youk Shim Won’s work so indicative of the local attitude is that it’s not simply eye candy for passers-by, but a reflection inspired directly from them. “When Gangnam meets art, it creates the most powerful energy that only Gangnam and no other city has,” says Youk. “I express that happiness in my ar t work by drawing all these women who dream of becoming a princess and whenever I see they love my artwork, it fuels my own energy.”

THE REAL GANGNAM STYLE / THE URBAN ISSUE 99

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Korea’s fuel is undergoing its own revolution too. Fusion food is at the core of the Gangnam revolution. While newcomers can get a taste of the history and spice of the national dish of kimchi at the Pulmuone Kimchi Museum in east Gangnam, the residents’ taste for international flavours and top-rate local food is raising the bar for eateries all around Gangnam.

French fusion La Categorie provides some of the area’s top notch cuisine produced via its own in-house laboratory, while new locales like Goldfish in Sinsa, home of Chinese dim sum, continue to pop up almost weekly. Then, for increasingly mobile, wealt hy and independent women comes the uniquely male-staff-only Mies Container. The macho waiters here serve zesty Western fare like spicy seafood spaghetti and the PR is so modern that it doesn’t even have a website – opting for customer-driven viral marketing.

At Samwon Garden, even Korea’s most common dish of bulgogi is get-

ting the first-class treatment. The largest luxury restaurant in Korea, able to host a whopping 1,200 guests, it bills itself as “a beautiful respite from the

ONE IN FIVE WOMEN IN GANGNAM HAVE HAD SOME SORT OF PLASTIC SURGERY, THE HIGHEST RATE IN THE WORLD city,” with waterfalls at its entrance, thatched roofs, watermills and ponds surrounding the traditional house structure. As with most local cuisine, it’s a multi-dish affair, with unexpect-

ed delights such as sweet-tasting garlic stems (who knew?) and kimchi lettuce.

Marinated Korean beef cooked at your own table will set you back up to $60.

“We tend to say that cultural trends are set by the residents of Gangnam, and the rest of the country follows,” says KJ Lee, CEO of Korean food brand DAON FnC (Food and Culture), one of several new companies redefining Korean food. “When it comes to trendy cafes, bars and restaurants, it is no exaggeration – that’s the reason many of them set up in Gangnam in the first place.”

Pa r t of DAON’s op erat ion s i nclude s B obbyB ox , a ca s ua l fo o d brand dubbed K-Food. Named after the Korean word ‘bon’ (cooked rice), BobbyBox serves traditional homestyle Korean do-sirak (lunch box) as a one-dish meal fast food in specially designed take-out tubs. Such is the demand in its first year that according to Lee, the company is already looking to expand overseas.

THE REAL GANGNAM STYLE / THE URBAN ISSUE 101

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BobbyBox is available at one of DAON’s own outlets, the K-Pop Cube Cafe, opened in April 2012 and indicative of the Korean concept of “allin-one-place.” Designed to combine K-Pop and food, it is located directly under the studios of Cube Entertainment so that customers can meet their favourite stars as they head in and out of recording, and buy exclusive items only available at the cafe. “It’s a pilot operation,” says Lee, “but we’ve recorded 20,000 visitors from home and abroad already.

A side effect of Korea’s notorious sense of ambition extends to the popularity of plastic surgery, a further indicator of Gangnam’s people-focused way of life. So much so that the major hotels have tie-up agreements to attract self-conscious overseas customers. According to The Economist , one in five local women – the world’s highest rate – have already altered their looks in a bid to boost their appeal.

“If you compare Garosugil and then go to the northern district of Gangbuk, you will see a huge difference in the way people look,” says the Park Hyatt’s Lim. “A round here people look very similar to each other, with a fronted-forehead, stocked mouth and a thinner Western style,” she explains, noting how the old days of secrecy have been replaced by complete openness about plastic surgery. It’s exemplified at the 16-floor BK hospital in Sinsa, which houses a multitude of medical miracles, including a second-floor Plastic Surgery Museum and a 3D Virtual Simulation Room for newbies.

One beneficiary of all of this body sculpting is Club Octogan, Gangnam’s largest party hub, which is leading the revolution of Korea’s nightlife.

“We have the prettiest women in the whole world for sure,” says manager Hyoungsubh Kim. “Compared with Las Vegas or Ibiza, we attract the

most exceptionally beautiful ladies and the most stable, successful men.”

And that’s partly a reflection of how Seoul’s dating scene has been altered by internationally influenced clubs as they replace old-style ‘nightclubs.’

Until just a few years ago nightclubs dominated the night scene, providing venues with a clear system. With no bar or standing area, men gathered in groups at tables, calling upon the waiter to lead over a potential female partner. While the girls’ drinks are paid for by their suitors, a successful match also brings the waiter a tip.

The opening of the first Western-style clubs only half a decade ago, radically changed the social ball game, attracting only the most confident and successful men who could feel comfortable in the new setting. “It’s fairly new here and we haven’t yet fused in Korea culture,” says Kim, “but we will see Korean culture blend in within the next few years.”

the real gangnam style / the urban issue 103

Octogan opened in November 2011, a venture by entrepreneurs with no prior experience. Due to excessive taxes on premises opening late and serving alcohol, most clubs are located under hotels, allowing them to bypass Seoul’s strict laws. Clubs are also hard to open because according to Kim, “When we came into the 21st century, Korea’s corporations joined forces with the real estate agencies to monopolise the area.”

Octogan, named after the lucky number 8, occupies several floors under the New Hilltop Hotel in central Gangnam and exemplifies the “all-in-oneplace” concept to the maximum. With

a complete French kitchen and full restaurant located inside the club, lounge areas, a pool, private rooms, televisions and projectors, Octogan aims to be all things to all people. “You no longer have to go to a restaurant to eat, a bar to drink and a club to dance,” explains Kim, “and there is no price difference between the VIPs and the main floor.”

The club attracts Gangnam’s most high-profile guests from major K-Pop stars to international names like Jessica Alba and Ne-Yo, some to play, some just to have fun in what Kim calls “a packaged lifestyle”. “We have a pool so that in the summer the public can go in, or bartenders can be in swimwear.

Then we can drain it so people can get tattoos or Halloween face-painting.

People can do everything here.”

From pop culture to cuisine, galleries to clubs, Gangnam’s style is one still finding its feet, a district seeking to discover itself and changing by the day thanks to residents united by their optimism and creativity. For them Psy’s video may have been mocking, but it matters little, only highlighting that the area is at the centre of a Korean cultural charge that shows no sign of abating.

Robert Michael Poole has written extensively about Asian culture for magazines globally

the real gangnam style / the urban issue 105

maximum city

Naples is one of Europe’s most controversial – and fascinating – cities. But is its reputation deserved, or does Italy’s ‘southern capital’ deserve better? Kevin Michael Buckley reports

E

asing into the spanking new Naples Centrale railway station on the state-of-the-art FrecciaRossa express you could be arriving in Milan or Berlin. As you leave your coach and walk towards the entrance, a low-roofed platform gives way to a modernistic canopy soaring above a brightly-lit open space, leading on to a cavernous entrance hall with a huge plate glass frontage.

But even before you’ve reached the end of the 300km-per-hour train’s streamlined red and grey nose, there is something different in the air. Elsewhere, greetings occur on the station concourse; instead here the platform erupts into a confusion of warm embraces, discarded bags, scampering children and sing-song cries of “mamma!”

Once out of the station, an edgy, anarchic undercurrent suddenly re-

places the bright modernity. Queuing was omitted from Naples’ DNA, and the waiting taxis are a sprawling mass of white metal.

The d r iver calls in heav y Neapolitan dialect to colleagues sitting on nearby railings. “Of course, I do know the address” he says over his shoulder, reverting to Italian. “But I just wanted to check” he adds, unconvincingly, before setting off with a half-smoked cigarette still clipped between his fingers. He doesn’t light it. Disconcertingly, he doesn’t illuminate the fare display either. It’s advisable not to argue with a Neapolitan cabby till you arrive at your destination. That way, the hotel reception will back you up if the fare turns out to be a rip-off. In my case it wasn’t.

Traffic here is notoriously chaotic yet driving is less dangerous than in

Rome or Milan. There is an almost complete absence of lane discipline, and indicator lights provide aesthetic decoration for the corners of an automobile only; the result is that speeds are actually slower. In the 15-minute journey my taxi driver twice defies the laws of physics to squiggle around the rear of vehicles, his backseat passenger braced for impact.

A stilettoed young woman whizzes past on the inside, cream-coloured Piaggio matching her floral dress, laughing into the cell phone tucked precariously under the rim of her helmet.

As the cab pulls up at traffic lights – not always a given – the clammy August heat sweeps in through the lowered windows. It’s still around 28 degrees centigrade at 9.30 in the evening – suddenly the air is pierced by the beautiful lilt of a Spanish trumpet emerging from a clump of nearby Stone Pine trees, and, all of a sudden, we’re in a languid Dylan soundtrack circa 1978.

Our route takes us towards the port and rounding Maschio Angioino, the chunky 13th-century Norman castle, the cab speeds down the Via Toledo shopping street and on to twist through the winding San Ferdinando quarter.

Metal balcony railings protrude from dilapidated four-storey buildings overlooking this warren of dirty, narrow, cobblestoned streets. Being close to the port many of these lanes are quite steep, yet few are barred to traffic. Street nameplates are sporadic and ubiquitous scooters ‘buzz’ their horns like urban mosquitoes before rounding one of the many blind corners.

Tucked away up one poorly lit slope is a tiny family-run pizzeria. Rickety wooden chairs, paper tablecloths and a television blaring in the corner means it’s off the tourist track.

The pizzaiolo – the pizza cook – is sitting on a scooter outside, in classic pristine white unifor m w ith a bright-red knotted kerchief around his neck, chatting with his five-yearold daughter.

“Francè, ma che fai?! – what are you doing?!” admonishes the grandmother hunched over the cash register in the door way. Francesco dutifully scuttles back inside, beneath the morose gaze of one of the omnipresent posters of Padre Pio, a 20th-century monk revered by the faithful for displaying the stigmata (bodily marks of the crucifixion).

ThE summEr of 2010 saw scEnEs of rioTs and chaos amid dirE warnings of a cholEra ouTbrEak The little girl, way past her bedtime, plays pizzaiola between the tables in an oversized apron stretching to the floor, imitating papa’s dough-twirling dexterity. Seven minutes after entering the nine-table eaterie, less than an hour after setting foot in the city, the latest client is joyously devouring a classic Pizza Margherita – said to have been invented for Queen Margherita of Savoy’s 1889 visit to Naples – and a small Moretti beer.

Welcome to Naples, perhaps Italy’s most colourful, contradictor y and controversial city.

“Yes, you could say life in Naples is like living in a theatre” laughs Fabrizio Fiume, a forty-something lecturer in contemporary history and a proud born-and-bred Neapolitan.

The city certainly boasts a beautiful and dramatic stage: the half-moon naples / the urban issue 109

Bay of Naples overlooked by Vesuvius, whose brooding silhouette resembles a giant’s chipped tooth.

The capricious nature of the stillactive volcano – the last major eruption was just moments ago in seismic terms, during the Second World War – reflects the unpredictable nature of the city itself.

In recent times, however, life in Naples has resembled a tragic opera more than a light comedy.

Streets piled high with stinking household refuse became a politically charged national scandal in 2008.

The then prime minister Silvio Ber-

a coffEE shop cusTomEr can buy Two cups and pay for onE, so somEonE ElsE can drink for frEE lusconi visited, promised four new incinerators and, in his inimitably populist style, boldly declared the crisis at an end.

Yet the emergenza rifiuti returned with a vengeance in the summer of 2010, amid dark warnings of a cholera outbreak. This time the images of pitched battles flashed around the world when riot police confronted residents picketing incinerator plants and rubbish dumps due to fears of wide-scale pollution.

Berlusconi blamed the left-leaning city authority for incompetent waste collection, and his Rome government dispatched troops to aid the clear up. Their presence was undoubtedly also a warning signal to the Camorra – the vicious organised crime network that infests Naples and the surrounding Campania region. For years

the Camorra had made millions by muscling in on waste disposal contracts. Shifting toxic waste in Italy is more lucrative per kilo than the illegal cocaine trade, and attracts much less attention.

“Although residents had real grievances, much of the violent protest was orchestrated by the Camorra,” confirms Professor Fiume sadly.

Then, i n May 2011, a la ndslide election victory swept in handsome, 43 year old, anti-mafia magistrate, Luigi de Magistris, as city mayor on a promise of a clean-up. In an unconventional stroke, De Magistris’ administration exported 250,000 tonnes of refuse by sea to specialists in the Netherlands.

But not everyone is pleased. “The emergenza rifiuti was a catastrophe for the city,” rages Clara Calicchio, a city-centre pharmacist. “Yes, the rubbish is now off the streets, but it’s costing us a fortune.” True, the Dutch option will cost the city $32 million, but that represents a welcome saving on the $55 million previously spent.

“They should really be pushing the policy of domestic rubbish sorting.

We already have it, but that culture needs to be promoted much more,” she argues. But at least the deadly Camorra has been cut out of the putrid picture.

Like most Neapolitans, the muchtravelled Clara is fiercely proud of her hometown, and eagerly points out its attractions: “It’s a beautiful city,” she enthuses. “The sea just along the coast is clear like the Caribbean.”

Professor Fiume readily agrees, as he sets off for a weekend of sunbathing and snorkelling in the crystalclear water off little-known Capo di Posillipo, just three kilometres west of the city-centre port where the jetfoils depart for Capri.

The seaside promenade, called the Lungomare, has recently been upgraded and the coastal strip of BagnoliPozzuoli, until recently a home for derelict metal-making factories, has also been cleaned up in the past decade.

Clara continues her one-woman ad campaign: “Then there is the wonder ful culinar y culture. A nd t he people, they are so human. They help each other.”

This is not simply city pride talking. It is still possible to come across Naples’ unique caffé pagata tradition – when a customer consumes one coffee but pays for two, permitting the bar to offer a free coffee to a needy customer. With almost a quarter of Naples’ families struggling below the poverty line, on $1,200 a month, such traditions of social solidarity are sorely needed.

As for food, every Italian city and region is boastful of its cuisine. But even Milanese v isitors are taken aback when they taste Naples’ signature dish. Tomatoes here taste like exotic fruit. And what other city would devote a front-page headline to a 66-year-old barista who recently served up his estimated 12-millionth cup of strong Neapolitan coffee? Giovanni Fummo’s career boasts serving four Italian presidents, plus a certain Bill Clinton, at the celebrated Gran Caffè Gambr inus in Piazza Trieste e Trento.

Cu r r ent Ga mbr i nu s cu stomers include Aurelio De Laurentiis. The 63-year-old f ilm producer is also owner of SS Naples, the city’s football club, thus marrying two of the major passions of the city – cinema and the footballing magazine Calcio.

But De Laurentiis’ dapper image recently disintegrated under questioning about star striker Edinson Cavani’s contract. “You are peasants,” naples / the urban issue 111

he raged at football reporters. “We in the film industry are gentlemen. We never discuss the contracts of Brad Pitt or Angelina Jolie. You are only interested in money!”. His gentlemanly mask then slipped somewhat when he threatened to punch his questioner. Such nervousness can perhaps be explained by the violence of some NaplesUltras – hardcore supporters – 112 the urban issue / naples

and their disaffection over De Laurentiis’ imminent sale of Cavani.

Iconic actress Sophia Loren, who hails from the city’s Pozzuoli district, is the voluptuous tip of a rich Neapolitan creative tradition that includes playwright Eduardo De Filippo; opera tenor Enrico Caruso; actor Massimo Troisi (who died just hours after completing his lead role in Mi-

chael Radford’s 1994 film Il Postino ( The Postman); and writer – Luciano De Crescenzo. The breathtaking Teatro San Carlo claims to be the world’s oldest operatic theatre, predating Milan’s La Scala.

The city’s diverse history has bequeathed an enormous artistic and architectural legacy: innumerable baroque churches and basilicas; the

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naplEs is noT a ciTy, iT is a mosaic, a complEx mix of quarTErs, Each vEry diffErEnT from Each oThEr Bourbon-era works of art collected at the Palazzo Reale di Capodimonte; Italy’s National Museum of Archaeology; and Piazza Plebiscito, the elegant columned semicircle dating from Napoleonic times.

There is also a varied genetic footprint left behind by the swathes of peoples – Spanish, Moors, Normans, and even Vikings – that have visited, conquered or traded across the region since the Ancient Greeks established the city they named Partenopei.

Being proud of such a rich cultural past, Carla feels resentful when outsiders talk only of the Camorra: “When I travel to France or Spain, when people hear I’m from Naples they are always so surprised. My fair hair, blue-green eyes, they can’t imagine I’m Neapolitan. All they talk about is the Camorra, the Mafia. It’s almost a kind of racism.”

Mention of the organised crime net work once a ga i n pr ovoke s a kind of fury: “The saddest thing is that the State doesn’t exist. Many people in Naples just feel abandoned by the State.”

Dramatic talk, but something that is confirmed by the measured tones of Professor Fiume: “Yes, in recent years I have to say that there is an increasing tendency for people to feel abandoned by the State. Speaking as a citizen rather than a historian, you feel that there is an absence of the political class.”

In 2006 a journalist, Roberto Saviano, wrote Gomorra – an “incredible, 114 the urban issue / naples

astonishing journey through the business and criminal world of the Camorra” – and blew the lid off its network of political and economic influence.

“The city is still split over it” admits Professor Fiume. Some criticised the book for bad-mouthing the city, but most right-thinking folk welcomed it as a brave exposé. “For me, he is a sai nt” ent huses Cla ra. “ Th i n gs haven’t changed much yet, but there is the beginning of a cultural revolution in the minds of the people.”

There are signs of a cultural shift but it is still too early to be definitive.

Evidence is contradictory. Tellingly, ‘Camorra merda’ can now be found sprayed on city centre walls.

In recent years the jailing of various Camorra bosses has sparked an increase in violence as a new generation fights to exploit the vacuum. This rarely touches the lives of ordinary people, but it damages the city’s reputation.

This image of crime and violence is not borne out by recent statistics. Many Neapolitans would be astonished to learn that Naples lies in 23rd place in Italy’s overall crime league table, lagging well behind places such as Genoa and Milan. Even more astonishingly, the infamous borseggiatori – bag snatchers – who operate in pairs on scooters, languish at 91st place nationwide.

Despite, or perhaps due to, the succession fight, Camorra-on-Camorra killings were down from 41 in 2009 to 23 in 2011. Rome suffers more murders.

Professor Fiume says: “It is too early to say if the de Magistris administration can turn the city around. To be honest, few of us invested much hope in him. After seeing all our hopes dashed in the previous ten years, we had no hope left to invest.”

It’s an analysis echoed by Silvana Boccanfuso, one-time actress turned tour manager.

Like many of the city’s best – she speaks four languages – Silvana was obliged to leave to find work. Distance has given her an objective yet informed viewpoint of her home city. “Whenever I went back during the 1990s you could see the improvements. Prestigious renovations, such as Piazza Plebiscito, which incredibly had previously been used as a parking lot. But also the public transport system was improved and rationalised. Things were getting better. But during the past decade there seems to have been a degeneration in the city fabric.”

She understands Clara Calicchio’s fury at the rubbish scandal: “The impact was enormously damaging to the image of the city. There are visitors who have heard of the rubbish in the streets but don’t know about Pompeii!”

Naples is a complex city; Professor Fiume sums up, “I regard it not so much as a conventional city, but more as a confederation of quarters. There is great wealth in Naples, and also great poverty. The fascinating thing is that, unlike other places, within each Quarter you have both bourgeois and ‘popular’ areas. It changes from street to street. Naples is a social mosaic.”

Silvana Boccanfuso concurs: “A mosaic yes. One Quarter can contain both well-off streets, very close to more popular, poorer housing.

The author Luciano de Crescenzo wrote in the 1980s about the way that in Naples you can even find this mixture within the same condominium.”

Despite its problems, she loves the place. “It’s true that the people are always chatty, open to dialogue. So, even though it’s a city, this makes it feel like a village.” A village whose residents hope is changing for the better.

Kevin Michael Buckley is The Independent’s Italy correspondent.

naples / the urban issue 115

brutal beauty The barbican’s brutalist design has divided opinion since its opening in 1982. The independent’s architecture critic Jay merrick examines its past, its resurgence, and its future

118 the urban issue / the barbican

T

he Barbican Estate in London has regularly been described as the ugliest piece of architecture in London – but, just as often, as Britain’s greatest masterpiece of urban placemaking. When she opened its final building, the Barbican Centre, in 1982 Queen Elizabeth II dared to call it “one of the modern wonders of the world.” It has star quality of the filmic kind, too: MI6 were based there in the James Bond film, Quantum of Solace.

And, indeed, it is the arts that have made the Barbican’s contemporary reputation. Under the leadership of Sir John Tusa and artistic director Graham Sheffield between 1995 and 2007, the Barbican Centre arts complex became a hotbed of wide-ranging international programming – hosting everything from Gustavo Dudamel’s electrifying youth orchestra to Bauhaus retrospectives.

Tusa’s influence was critical in shifting public opinion about the Barbican as a people-friendly place, a vibe that the current director, Sir Nicholas Kenyon, is determined to explore and amplify.

But until the mid-1990s, it was easy to think of the Barbican as a kind of urban exclusion zone. And no wonder: punching upwards and outwards from its 40acre site at the south-western corner of the City of London, the Barbican is a fearlessly stark essay in what architects call Brutalism design – as in brut beton, the French term for raw concrete.

The physical toughness of the Barbican’s architecture – its mixture of rough, hefty surfaces and delicate details – has polarised opinion for three decades. And yet it remains an extraordinary object lesson in how idealistic design can change the way people live.

Idealistic, yet quirky. Rather surprisingly, the Barbican complex includes a massive conservatory containing

2,000 species of plants, quails, finches, koi carp and terrapins. One commentator described it as “Angkor Wat set in a multi-storey car park.”

Looking down from a balcony flat on the 40th floor of the Barbican’s Shakespeare Tower, we might well be reminded of Prospero’s line in The Tempest: “O brave new world, that has such people in it!” No self-contained urban world has been braver than the Barbican Estate. Originally conceived in the mid-1950s, constructed mainly through the 1960s and 1970s, and completed in 1982, it’s ironic that the only brutal thing about the Barbican today is the market value of its apartments.

There is no cooler place to live in the City of London: the hip, restaurantpacked areas around Smithfields Market and Clerkenwell Road are three minutes’ stroll away. In the other direction you can amble to the Bank of England in ten. Which is part of the reason why the Barbican’s residents include both financiers and creatives. A fourbedroomed apartment will cost around $4 million to buy, or you could rent one for a mere $16,000 per month.

Lifest yle tittle-tattle apar t, the Barbican’s architecture provides a fascinating contrast to what’s happening in many other major cities.

As they explode out wards, or implode inwards, with such physical and commercial velocity their expansions often produce urban lesions rather than any individual sense of place, or belonging.

The architect and Royal Academician Piers Gough is in no doubt about the Barbican’s architectural and social importance: “It’s the greatest piece of combined urban planning and architecture in Britain in the 20th century,” he says. “Nowhere, before or since, has the three-dimensional daring and complexity of its sunken gardens, soar-

ing residential towers, public walkways on the roofs of houses, and megastructures bridging the lakes been equalled.”

The affable, Hendrix-haired Gough (“Wow!” is one of his favourite words) is quite right. The Barbican is an enduring architectural “up yours!” to flashy high-rise city real estate. The serrated balcony-edges of its three towers ascend like vast concrete chainsaws from the ancient clay subsoil of the City of London – stark modernity and history jammed together in what still feels like a cultural experiment on a grand scale.

The Barbican is proof that daring architecture, as a key part of urban planning, can add something physically expressive to the character of cities – something far beyond the expediently

the barbican’s conservatory was described as angkor wat set in a multi-storey car park functional thickets of high-rise housing in Shenzhen, or the low-rise “Boomburb” communities spreading outwards like shock waves from the edges of cities such as Phoenix and Miami.

The Barbican also reminds us that powerful architecture is not always easy to understand. It still polarises architectural opinion: the Barbican is either disdained as a grandiose utopian dinosaur, or cited as a fearless example of late-Modernist design. Even those who admire it – and I certainly do – feel equivocal about it: are the Barbican’s three-dimensional maze of walkways and level changes absolutely infuriating, or terrifically interesting?

And it is also very clear that its archi119

the barbican took 23 years to complete and was one of the last hurrahs of the modernists tectural boldness fails in some fundamental ways. The edges of the Barbican Estate, and its entrance thresholds, are still as forbidding to pedestrians as 13th century crusader castles would have been to, say, Muslims in Jordan. There are no obvious connections between the Barbican and the urban grain around it: its main street entrance requires a ninemetre high orange arrow to attract attention. And the apartments’ original internal fittings are less than impressive – the doors, for example, are rather flimsy.

But, in essence, this extraordinary tableau of buildings was never about the half measures or grim design bling that has made many supposedly innovative 21st-century buildings and urban developments utterly banal.

We might even offer the Barbican up as a test of Marx and Engels scathing critique of namby-pamby ‘utopian socialists,’ in their Communist manifesto of 1848: “They still dream of an experimental realisation of their social utopia . . . pocket editions of the new Jerusalem — and to erect all these castles in the air, they must appeal to the philanthropy of the bourgeois heart and purse . . . They want to reach their goal by peaceful means and seek, through the power of example, to pave the way for the new social Gospel through small-scale experiments, which naturally fail.”

The Barbican is not small scale, and it is not utopian. It thrives as Britain’s largest self-contained mi xed-use estate, and is protected by Grade II 120 the urban issue / the barbican

heritage status. But it’s the range of its content, rather than its size, that sets the Barbican apart: 2,113 f lats housing about 6,000 residents, two schools, a hostel and church, gardens, an L-shaped lake, the Guildhall School of Music, and a major multiauditorium arts venue, the Barbican Centre. The towers, which are more than 40 storeys, contain apartments

designed to offer more than 100 different interior plans.

The Barbican Estate took 23 years to complete and it remains one of the last great hurrahs of an age when Modernist architects – in this case the Chamberlin Powell and Bon practice – could propose big, genuinely risky ideas, and see them through. For example, when the Barbican Centre por-

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tion was completed in 1982 it cost an almost outrageous $250m – $795m in today’s money.

Nevertheless, the Barbican is bigger, and more culturally ambitious, than Brutalism’s most famous icon, the 1952 Unité d’Habitation ‘superblock’ in Marseilles designed by Le Corbusier. In Brazil, Oscar Niemeyer’s snaking 140m long Edifício Copan in São Paulo, completed in 1966, is still reported to be the largest apartment building in the world.

Yet even this architectural leviathan has only half the accommodation of the Barbican. One can’t help wondering, incidentally, how many of the Copan’s residents own a pair of Converse Chuck Taylor sneakers, designed by the 104-year-old Brazilian genius.

In the 1960s, the only Converse sneakers in Britain were worn by offduty American military personnel 122 the urban issue / the barbican

serving at air force and submarine bases. Indeed, part of the Barbican’s design genetics is rooted in that era’s Cold War mentality – and in the desperate postwar need for rapid reconstruction and new ideas about city building. It was a test case for radical urban surgery.

And in that sense, Brutalism was no different to the original European Modernist architecture of the 1930s, whose clean lines and deliberately minimalist design details were a culturally cleansing reaction to the horrors of the First World War, and an attempt to put architecture into the same streamlined technical arena as, say, aircraft or car design.

Br uta l is m’s desig n ph i losophy flowed from a quite different set of physical and intellectual conflicts.

Physically, the 40-acre Barbican Estate is phoenix-like: it covers a seg-

ment of the City of London that was destroyed in a Blitz firebombing in 1940.

Intellectually, its design was fertilised by the postwar period’s tangle of ideas about the future of cities.

On the one hand, many architects and planners were still heavily influenced by the architectural ideals of Le Corbusier, in particular. Cities, he said, should not encourage “happy-go-lucky heedlessness.” Instead, straight lines and right angles should dominate city design: “The curve is ruinous, difficult and dangerous; it is a paralysing thing.”

Le Corbusier remains the most famous visualiser of urban utopias. It was he who effectively created the tower-and-plaza format that swept through dozens of western cities after the war – and perhaps most ruthlessly in New York, where its planning su-

many urban planners believed that straight lines should dominate urban buildings urban design, creating more than 20 Corbusian concrete-and-glass town centres in places such as Basildon, Harlow, Peterlees, Runcorn, Cumbernauld, and Milton Keynes.

But in the 1960s, even as these tow ns were being reshaped, there were those who wanted to preserve or create a much more intimate, looseknit urban vibe. At the same time that the Barbican Estate was being designed, Jane Jacobs’ now legendary book, The Death and Life of Great

premo Robert Moses wrenched parts of that great city into new and often socially divisive configurations of multi-lane highways, parks and highrise housing projects.

But, then, avant-garde architectural and urban ideas usually get mangled by the pragmatic or commercial needs of clients. We saw the same thing with Postmodern architecture, the tsunami of smoked glass, shiny surfaces and ironic-cum-idiotic ‘his-

toric’ features of buildings that swept through countless towns and cities in the 1980s. The origins of that particular brand of architecture owe a great deal to Futurist designs, such as the New City proposed by Antonio Sant ‘Elia in 1914, and the 1934 Lingotto Factory in Turin.

In Britain, Le Corbusier’s ideas became part of the genetics of the New Towns Act of 1946, which ushered in a tough and pragmatic approach to

American Cities, was published.

“Artist’s conceptions and persuasive renderings can put pictures of life into proposed neighbourhood parks or park malls, and verbal rationalisations can conjure up users who ought to appreciate them,” she wrote. “But in real life only diverse su r rou nd i n gs have t he prac t ical power of inducing a natural, continuing flow of life and use.”

She also said this: “There is a quality even meaner than outright ugliness or disorder, and this meaner quality is the dishonest mask of pretended order, achieved by ignoring or suppressing the real order that is struggling to exist and to be served.”

And by ‘real order’ she meant unpredictably messy, or graceful, human behaviour in cities where the lines between different kinds of communities and activities remained blurred. This is what contemporary mixed-use developments are supposed to bring to our cities 123

and big towns; but, of course, they rarely achieve anything more than provide precisely set out urban zones designed to promote shopping and eating.

A rchitects who designed in the Brutalist manner were not interested in creating funky little communities.

They were reacting to what might be called “safe” Modernist design. They wa nted to ta ke Moder n ism’s de fault materials, concrete and glass, and use them in a provocative way, to challenge postwar assumptions about form, aesthetics and the very idea of modernity.

124 the urban issue / the barbican

the barbican dared to be different; it’s a survivor and it’s still, literally, full of ideas Britain was, arguably, the leader in Brutalist design, with seriously ‘difficult’ architecture such as London’s National Theatre, the Tricorn Centre in Portsmouth, Preston bus station, and buildings on the Leeds University campus – the latter designed by the

Barbican’s authors, Chamberlin Powell and Bon. But Brutalism spread far and wide, and became increasingly controversial via projects such as Moshe Safdie’s brusque jumble of concrete cubes, otherwise known as the Habitat 67 housing development in Montreal.

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Brutalist design never pretended to be utopian: it was deliberately meant to create architectural crumple zones – a series of aesthetic crash sites designed to kill off tidy Modernist design for good.

Which makes the Barbican an architectural riddle: its design is essentially Brutalist, but it possesses refined Modernist details. It draws from the highly ordered ideas of Le Corbusier, yet also from the jaggedly aggressive designs of Russian artists and architects such as El Lissitsky and Konstantin Melnikov in the 1920s and early 1930s.

Architecture such as Melnikov’s 1927 Rusakov Workers Club in Moscow, and Ivan Nikolaev’s Textile Institute housing blocks were Brutalist more than three decades before western architects invented that word.

The Russian’s even out-Brutalised western architects in the 1970s: there is surely no more ruthlessly radical concrete-and-glass structure than the 1975 Georgian Ministry of Highways building, designed by George Chakhava and Zurab Jalaghania. If you have a laptop or iPad to hand, Google it – and prepare to be startled.

The Russians admired Corbusier, but weren’t afraid of attacking his core

126 the urban issue / the barbican

ideas. In 1930, the architect Moisei Ginzburg wrote a brilliantly critical letter to the Frenchman: “You raise the entire city on stilts, hoping to solve the insoluble urban traffic problem.

“You create wonderful gardens on the roofs of tall buildings, hoping to give people an extra patch of green, you design homes whose occupants enjoy perfect convenience, peace, and comfort.

But you do all this because you want to cure the city, because you are trying to keep it essentially the same as capitalism made it.”

Even today, Ginzburg’s 82-year-old critique seems universally applicable to 21st-century urban design, hard to argue against – whether in relation to the Barbican or to the many hundreds of major urban development schemes taking shape all over the world. Jane Jacobs’ remark about “the dishonest mask of pretended [urban] order” remains equally compelling.

The Barbican certainly doesn’t meet Ginzburg’s ideal of “a new form of human settlement that will be free of internal contradictions.” Nevertheless, one could imagine the Russian’s ghost wafting over to the Barbican Centre’s Dancing Around Duchamp performances in February, which features

The Bride and the Bachelors, a choreographed ‘experiential staging’ of the work of artists including Jasper Johns and Robert Rauschenberg.

The Barbican passes the Marx-Engels test with ease, despite possessing the Brutalist equivalent of bourgeois castles in the air. Three decades after its completion, the Barbican is definitely not a pocket edition New Jerusalem. Nor has it failed in its original ambition to become a new and vibrantly diverse multi-purpose community in the heart of London.

And that, ultimately, is why the Barbican is special: it dared to be different, it’s a survivor – and it is still, literally, full of ideas.

It cou ld even be t hat get t i n g regularly lost inside t he Barbican is a v ir tue t hat even Jane Jacob s wou ld h ave applaude d .

“B y its nature,” she w rote, “t he metropolis provides what otherwise could be given only by travelling; namely, the strange.”

In which case, three cheers for the giant orange arrow at the Barbican’s Silk Street entrance!’

Jay Merrick is the architecture correspondent for The Independent in the UK

the urban issue / mayors

THE

ULTIMATE

MAYOR GUIDE mayors / THE urban issuE

JACQUES

CHIRAC

City Paris

Tenure 1977 – 1995

strengths Provided a much greater level of social care for the disadvantaged, and the streets were a lot cleaner.

Weaknesses His clientist policies led to large scale corruption, and a huge waste of taxpayers’ money. Trust in power was eroded.

LEGACY His achievements have been overshadowed by his conviction for embezzlement. His legacy will forever be tarnished, despite his subsequent time as President of France.

RICHARD M.DALEY City Chicago

Tenure 1989 – 2011

strengths His vision of Chicago as a destination city rather than simply a manufacturing hub is paying dividends, with the city now considered one of America’s great urban hubs.

Weaknesses His neglect of low-income neighbourhoods in favour of big business has seen the city polarised.

The poor have gotten a lot poorer on his watch.

LEGACY The city benefited economically from his long reign, socially, less so, but no one can say he did not put Chicago on the map.

mayors / THE urban issuE 131

KEN LIVINGSTONE

City London

Tenure 2000 – 2008

strengths Integrated public transport and introduced the much maligned ‘congestion charge’ as well as for his leadership during and after the 7/7 bombings.

Weaknesses Seen as divisive, and disliked by the Labour hierarchy, he never really united all Londoners. Had a tendency to make outlandish statements, which may have worked in his favour.

LEGACY Remembered more for his personality than his achievements, which is a shame, given he was actually good for the city.

132 the urban issue / mayors

TOM bRADLEY City Los Angeles

Tenure 1973 – 1993

strengths Understood the importance of investment in infrastructure and championed projects such as Century City.

Weaknesses The 1992 LA riots effectively ended his political career

LEGACY Broke down racial barriers and was an effective city mayor, although he will forever be tainted by the 1992 race riots.

134 the urban issue / mayors

FIORELLO LA GUARDIA

City New York City

Tenure 1934 – 1945

strengths Tough, no nonsense mayor who championed women’s rights and opposed prohibition.

Weaknesses Domineering, authoritarian, ho had a tendency to overspend public money.

LEGACY Regarded as one of America’s great mayors who shoehorned New York’s public service into the modern world.

136 the urban issue / mayors

Matjaz Krivic’s photographs explore the cities of the developing world.

His project illustrates what happens when urban and rural meet

kathmandu, nepal An evening view of Durbar Square, kathmandu, with the Himalayas encircling the capital

shugruf, yemen A father and his son look down towards the valley far below from the top of their home in the village of Jebel Shugruf in the Haraz Mountains

fes, morocco A tannery in Fes. The process of making the leather has remained the same for centuries and the leather is still exported around the world

amritsar, india A pilgrim takes a ritual bath in the holy lake of Sarovar, where the main Sikh temple of Hari Mandir – the Golden Temple – is located

Khofsgol, Mongolia A man stands on the bonnet of a Soviet-era Zil truck after it breaks down. A hammer and some water got the truck moving again

LHASA, TIBET A Tibetan woman pours yak butter into lamps in a small chapel in front of the Jokhang Temple in Lhasa, Tibet.

The butter keeps the lamps lit

Ulan Bator, Mongolia A young jockey gets ready for a horse race, one of three main events of the traditional Mongolian festival of Naadam

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islaNd Of smiles From December 10, Emirates will start daily flights to the Thai island of Phuket.

Here’s our pick of where to visit on this island paradise

1 Old Phuket town With plenty of well-preserved buildings displaying 19th century Sino-Portuguese architecture, Old Phuket town is a must-visit. The obvious Mediterranean influenced facades such as the Phuket Courthouse and Siam City Bank are always popular on the walking tour.

2 Wat Chalong The most important of Phuket’s 29 Buddhist temples. This beautiful temple surrounded in lush green landscape has been welcoming visitors for over a century and is very popular with locals and tourists alike. The temple is normally open from 7am to 5pm. illustration: edward mcgowan

3 Waterfalls These small waterfalls (Ton Sai, Bang Pae, Kathu) dotted around the island are very pleasant spots to go and while away a couple of hours – and half the fun is the trek to reach them. It is best to visit them in the wet season between June and November.

4 Big Buddha Built on a patch of virgin rainforest high above Phuket City and visible from most vantage points, the serene - and very, very, big - Chalong Big Buddha will wow you even from a distance. Close up, it’s quite overwhelming.

5 Phang Nga Bay boat trip World famous for its surrounding islands, a trip to Phuket is not complete without an island-hopping boat trip. There are plenty of tour groups that will take you, with the pick of the islands being the beautiful limestone formations of Phang Nga Bay.

Perfect timing Don’t miss your next Emirates flight.

Make sure you get to your boarding gate on time.

Boarding starts 45 minutes before your flight and gates close 20 minutes before departure. If you report late we will not be able to accept you for travel.

Thank you for your cooperation.

news

emirates briefing 153

luxury TraNsfer shuTTle fleeT GettinG to and From your plane has just been made a lot more comfortable for Emirates First Class and Business Class passengers thanks to Emirates’ new fleet of bespoke, luxury transfer shuttles.

The new stylishly designed transfer shuttles will move First Class and Business Class passengers to and from their departure gates if a flight embarks or disembarks away from the terminal . The addition of 41 transfer shuttles to Emirates’ premium class services will enhance the Emirates experience from start to end.

serviCe TaBleT serViCe is paramount in the aviation industry, which is why Emirates’ Purs-

film faNs TO desCeNd ON duBai Film Fans From all over the region tune their focus to Dubai this month with the ninth edition of the Dubai International Film Festival. Between December 9 and 16, 162 films in 32 languages from more than 50 countries will be shown in locations all over the city.

ers will now be equipped with the new HP ElitePad 900, a touch-based tablet allowing them to be instantly aware of the needs of their passengers.

Supporting the latest technology, the upgraded Emirates KIS (Knowledge-

With the selected films representing genres across the board, ranging from drama to

driven Inflight Service) system will now

action and adventure as well as biopics and documentaries – the film festival is arguably

exclusively run Microsoft’s Windows 8

the region’s favourite cultural event. Learn more at www.dubaifilmfest.com.

operating system – allowing cabin crew the flexibility to manage customers via their portable tablet.

CONCOurse a ON TraCk TO reWard PasseNgers

The tablet will allow Pursers to receive instant updates on the requirements of their customers by providing information such as a passengers’ trip details, meal alerts, Skywards membership status and information about accompanying passengers as well as personal preferences and notes from previous flights.

With last month’s global launch of Windows 8, Emirates is world’s first airline to realise the potential of this new technology.

From Family-Friendly restaurants to bars and champagne lounges – the anticipation for the opening of Dubai International’s new Concourse A continues to build.

Six food and beverage outlets have been confirmed for the new terminal, including Giraffe, a UK-based family friendly restaurant, Jack’s Bar, and a Costa Metropolitan.

Opening in 2013, Concourse A will be handle Emirates’ growing A380 fleet and will boost international traffic capacity by 15 million passengers a year.

154 emi rates briefing

news

Continuing its pioneering trajectory, Emirates is also the first global customer of the HP ElitePad 900. Through these unique partnerships Emirates has

helped cre-

ate and develop an industry-leading, new version of KIS.

THE HEIGHT OF LUXURY

IN THE HEART OF SOUQ WAQIF Discover the height of luxury in the heart of culture at Souq Waqif Boutique Hotels, and enjoy personal service at its best. Nestled between the alleyways of old are ancient doors that lead into a new world in boutique hotels. A unique combination of modernity and history that brings together the height of international design and the charm of authentic Qatari hospitality.

Visit us at one of Souq Waqif Boutique Hotels and experience the unforgettable.

For more information please call us at +974 4433 6666 or email us at: reservations@swbh.com

50% the amount that the airline industry is looking to reduce aircraft noise by 2020 (SoUrCe: www.enviro.aero)

fUEl from thin Air

UAE UnvEils grEEn plAns

Looking to chaLLenge the old adage ‘you cannot get something from nothing,’ a small British company has managed

the uae has declared its intentions to embrace a new energy-

to produce petrol from air.

mix model, and to forge ahead as a world leader on cleaner

Crediting the use of revolutionary technology, Air Fuel

energy solutions.

Synthesis has produced five litres of petrol since August, when

During the opening speech at last month’s World Energy

it first switched on a small refinery that manufactures gasoline

Forum in Dubai, Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum,

from carbon dioxide and water vapour.

Prime Minister of the UAE and ruler of Dubai, stated that the

The UK-based firm plans to build a commercial-scale plant within two years, capable of producing a tonne of petrol per day.

It also hopes to start producing aviation fuel, which would make airline travel more carbon-neutral.

Although the process is still in its early stages, creating a fuel from carbon dioxide extracted from the planet’s air not only offers

UAE is seeking to reduce the causes of climate change and to diversify its sources of generating power.

Currently, 99 per cent of the UAE’s domestic electricity consumption comes from oil and gas sources, however the UAE government aims to have 19% of its energy coming from renewable energy and nuclear sources by 2020.

a potential alternative to fossil fuels, it also makes direct use of

In January 2012, Dubai unveiled plans for a new $3.3 billion

carbon dioxide – the principle industrial greenhouse gas widely

solar park, located in the southeast of the emirate, the first phase

regarded as a main cause of global warming.

of which is expected to be in operation by the end of 2013.

gUlf to host climAtE mEEt the annuaL coP meeting on climate change will take place this month in the Qatari capital, Doha, with discussions focused on reducing global greenhouse gas levels. From 26 November to 7 December 2012 negotiations will focus on the progress achieved since last year’s meeting in Durban, where agreement was reached on a legally binding deal for all countries – to be prepared by 2015, and to take effect in 2020.

Since 1995, countries that signed up to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) have met on an annual basis known as the Conference of the Parties (COP), to gather and share information on greenhouse gas emissions, and to develop national policies and legally binding targets to tackle the issue.

Doha will also host further discussions on the roll-out of the Green Climate Fund (GCF) which aims to distribute US$100 billion per year to help poor countries adapt to climate impacts.

156 emi rates briefing

environment

76% the global average for aircraft seat occupancy, compared to 30% for cars and 50% for trains (SoUrCe: www.enviro.aero)

Member Community of:

For inquiries contact: Tel.: +971 4 420 3553 Fax: +971 4 420 3552 Email: info@vh.ae Web: www.vh.ae

RERA Registration Number : 261/2007

Before Your JourneY Consult your doCtor before travelling if you have any mediCal ConCerns about making a long journey, or if you suffer from a respiratory or

in the air

CardiovasCular Condition. plan for the destination – will you need any vaCCinations or

To help you arrive at your destination feeling relaxed and refreshed, Emirates has developed this collection of helpful travel tips.

Regardless of whether you need to

rejuvenate for your holiday or be effective at achieving your goals on a business trip, these simple tips will help you to enjoy your journey and time on board with Emirates today.

speCial mediCations? get a good night’s rest before the flight. eat lightly and sensibly.

at the airport allow yourself plenty of time

smart traveller dRink plenty of wateR

for CheCk-in. avoid Carrying heavy bags

tRavel lightly

through the airport and onto the flight as this Can plaCe the body under Considerable stress. onCe through to departures try and relax as muCh as possible.

RehydRate with wateR oR juices fRequently.

caRRy only the essential items that

dRink tea and coffee in modeRation.

you will need duRing youR flight.

make youRself comfoRtable

During the flight Chewing and swallowing will help equalise your ear pressure during asCent and desCent.

keep moving

babies and young passengers may suffer more aCutely with popping ears, therefore Consider providing a dummy. get as Comfortable as

loosen clothing, Remove jacket and

exeRcise youR loweR legs and calf

avoid anything pRessing against youR body.

muscles. this encouRages blood flow.

possible when resting and turn frequently. avoid sleeping for long periods in

weaR glasses

use skin moistuRiseR

the same position.

When You arrive try some light exerCise or read if you Can’t sleep after arrival.

cabin aiR is dRieR than noRmal theRefoRe

apply a good quality moistuRiseR to

swap youR contact lenses foR glasses.

ensuRe youR skin doesn’t dRy out.

158 emi rates briefing

COMFORT

CAbIn l bE CREw wIl lp hE hAppy To D E If yoU nE

e c n a t s i s s a pleting com the forms

to Us cUstoms & immigration forms Whether you’re travelling to, or through, the United States today, this simple guide to completing the US customs and immigration forms will help to ensure that your journey is

as hassle free as possible. The Cabin Crew will offer you two forms when you are nearing your destination. we provide guidelines below, so you can correctly complete the forms.

customs declaration form

immigration form All passengers arriving into the US need to complete a Customs DeClaration Form. If you are travelling as a family this should be completed by one member only. The form must be completed in English, in capital letters, and must be signed where indicated.

The immigration Form I-94 (Arrival / Departure Record) should be completed if you are a non-US citizen in possession of a valid US visa and your final destination is the US or if you are in transit to a country outside the US. A separate form must be completed for each person, including children travelling on their parents’ passport. The form includes a Departure Record which must be kept safe and given to your airline when you leave the US. If you hold a US or Canadian passport, US Alien Resident Visa (Green Card), US Immigrant Visa or a valid ESTA (right), you are not required to complete an immigration form.

160 emi rates briefing

customs & VIsAs

eleCtroniC system For

wIll ExpIRE AlonG wITh

travel authorisation (esta)

yoUR pASSpoRT.

If yoU ARE An InTERnATIonAl

Apply online At www.cbp.gov/estA

TRAVEllER wIShInG To EnTER ThE UnITED STATES UnDER ThE

nationalities eligible

VISA wAIVER pRoGRAmmE,

For the visa Waiver *:

yoU mUST Apply foR

AnDoRRA, AUSTRAlIA,

ElECTRonIC AUThoRISATIon

AUSTRIA, bElGIUm, bRUnEI,

(ESTA) Up To 72 hoURS pRIoR

CzECh REpUblIC, DEnmARk,

To yoUR DEpARTURE.

ESTonIA, fInlAnD, fRAnCE, GERmAny, hUnGARy, ICElAnD,

esta FaCts:

IRElAnD, ITAly, JApAn, lATVIA,

ChIlDREn AnD

lIEChTEnSTEIn, lIThUAnIA,

InfAnTS REqUIRE An

lUxEmbURG, mAlTA, monACo,

InDIVIDUAl ESTA.

ThE nEThERlAnDS, nEw

ThE onlInE ESTA SySTEm

zEAlAnD, noRwAy, poRTUGAl,

wIll InfoRm yoU whEThER

SAn mARIno, SInGApoRE,

yoUR ApplICATIon hAS bEEn

SloVAkIA, SloVEnIA, SoUTh

AUThoRISED, noT AUThoRISED

koREA, SpAIn, SwEDEn,

oR If AUThoRISATIon

SwITzERlAnD AnD ThE

IS pEnDInG.

UnITED kInGDom**.

A SUCCESSfUl ESTA

*

ApplICATIon IS VAlID

** only british citizens quAlify under the visA wAiver progrAmme.

foR Two yEARS, howEVER

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80 mm wide x 224 mm high

subject to chAnge

ThIS mAy bE REVokED oR

ThE DECIbEl lEVEl of An A380 DURInG TAkE off, CompARED To 147Db mADE by A foRmUlA onE RACInG CAR

82 56 million

ThE nUmbER of pEoplE EmployED woRlDwIDE In AVIATIon AnD RElATED ToURISm

customs & VIsAs

emirates briefing 161

162 EMI RATES BRIEFING

ROUTE MAP

ROUTE MAP

EMIRATES BRIEFING 163

164 emi rates briefing

route map

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UNTIL 31 NU JA ARY 2013

Dubai Marina +971 4 4311758 | Al Mina +971 4 3452131 | Email : info@clubstretch.ae | Website: www.clubstretch.ae route map

emirates briefing 165

etins e l f the nta

f cO leet ade up O f r Ou es. M planes lan p er 6 9 1 eng planes s s a 186 p rgO 10 ca d n a

Boeing 777-300ER Number of Aircraft: 82 Capacity: 354-442 Range: 14,594km Length: 73.9m Wingspan: 64.8m

Boeing 777-300 Number of Aircraft: 12 Capacity: 364 Range: 11,029km Length: 73.9m Wingspan: 60.9m

Boeing 777-200LR Number of Aircraft: 10 Capacity: 266 Range: 17,446km Length: 63.7m Wingspan: 64.8m

Boeing 777-200 Number of Aircraft: 9 Capacity: 274-346 Range: 9,649km Length: 63.7m Wingspan: 60.9m

Boeing 777F Number of Aircraft: 6 Range: 9,260km Length: 63.7m Wingspan: 64.8m 166 emi rates briefing

fleet guide

For more inFormation: www.emirates.com/ourFleet

Airbus A380-800 Number of Aircraft: 31 Capacity: 489-517 Range: 15,000km Length: 72.7m Wingspan: 79.8m

Airbus A340-500 Number of Aircraft: 10 Capacity: 258 Range: 16,050km Length: 67.9m Wingspan: 63.4m

Airbus A340-300 Number of Aircraft: 8 Capacity: 267 Range: 13,350km Length: 63.6m Wingspan: 60.3m

Airbus A330-200 Number of Aircraft: 24 Capacity: 237-278 Range: 12,200km Length: 58.8m Wingspan: 60.3m

Boeing 747-400F/747-400ERF Number of Aircraft: 1/2 Range: 8,232km/9,204km Length: 70.6m Wingspan: 64.4m ai rcraFt n umbers as oF 3 1/ 1 2 / 2 0 1 2

fleet guide

emirates briefing 167

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80 mm wide x 224 mm high

NEXT

MONTH

We will examine the phenomenon that is Bitcoin and investigate if it really is the future of cash. Zara has come from nowhere to become the world’s largest fashion retailer – find out how this Spanish retail giant did it. We profile one of Dubai’s quirkiest galleries and take a tour down one of Asia’s most interesting streets. He is one of the best actors in the world, known for playing one of the world’s most iconic historical figures. We sit down with Sir Ben Kingsley, the man who played Don Logan (and Gandhi). Plus all the usual reviews and insight. See you next month.

168

Amazing camera.

Authentic sound.

Shot on Nick’s HTC One X while free falling at 126 miles per hour

As recommended by Nick Jojola Freefall fashion photographer

Watch Nick’s personal experience at htc.com

| Capture HD video and photos at the same time | | Includes HTC Sense |

www.omegawatches.com

OMEGA DUBAI LADIES MASTERS 5-8 DECEMBER 2012