AALU SUMMER PRESENTATION

On Tuesday 24th June, Landscape Urbanism students presented their work to a review panel as part of their summer presentation. The panel included the following guests:
Douglas Spencer (University of Wesminster)
Alejandra Bosch (Groundlab)
Ivan Valdez (Zaha Hadid Architects)
Jeff Turko (Nekton architects)
Alejandra Bosch (Groundlab)
Larry Barth (ALLU)
Pedro Alonso (Arup Urban Design)
Shajay Bhooshan (Zaha Hadid Architects)
Daewah Kang (Zaha Hadid Architects)
Arturo Layon (Zaha Hadid Architects)

Images from Hossein Kachabi (above) and Katya Larina (below), AALU 0708

AALU GOES TO GREECE

Eduardo Rico has given recently two talks on Landscape Urbanism in Greece. The events took place in the Architecture Faculty of the University of Crete, as well as the NTUA in Athens. The lecture ioncluded theoretical aspects about the disciplinary approach of LU as a discipline, as well as case studies of students work and the work developed by Groundlab for the Longgang development.

1ST PRIZE IN COMPETITION FOR AALU GRADUATES

Jen-Hwang Ho and Fang Chun-Chieh, both 06/07 AALU graduates currently working at Zaha Hadid Architects, have recently won the 1st prize in an international landscape design competition in Taiwan. The project aims to re-arranging the landscape around the funeral parlous area, located in a block in Taichung city, mid of Taiwan.The adjacent Concert hall, Civil park and leisure areas with sport facilities such as swimming pool and tennis court make this block a very intense place but without a clear connection among them. The project proposes to coordinate these varied functions, with a continuous surface that generates an unified urban landscape. With series of different slopes and crest lines, the landscape is shaped to act as either the guilders of circulation or the veils of incompatible activities.The surface of tangency embodying a systematic geometry upon plurality of natural and landscape elements highlights the influx of surrounding gestures of the ground. Meanwhile, the releasing of the existing boundaries creates the seamless environment of urban moving style, fulfilling the awareness of citizenship.

LANDSCAPE URBANISM / GROUNDLAB IN NAVARRA

AALU/Groundlab exhibitions is open at the School of Architecture in the Universidad de Navarra. The show will open from 12.05.2006 to 29/05.2008 and features the research based work of Ma Course Landscape Urbanism altogether with the professional approach to city design by Groudlab collective. Landscape Urbanism exhibition shows a selection of the student production during the years 04-05 (based in Mexico City), 05-06 (based in Sri Lanka) and 06-07 (based in Dubai-Oman), as well as several competitions form Groundlab including the winning entry for Longgang city masterplan.A lecture will be closing the event on the 29 of may at the Aula magna ETSAUN.

LECTURE RESCHEDULED

LANDSCAPE URBANISM LECTURE SERIES

Architecture today is obsessed with icons. To be iconic or not to be, that is the question for more and more architects. But as we get accustomed of seeing our weekly starchitect masterpiece announced for Astana, Dubai or Taipeh, we wonder whether the contemporary architectural spectacle has a mission that goes beyond celebrating the egos of the client and the architect – what about program, place, politics? If it is true that the icon building is an inevitable condition for the possibility of architecture today – because it is seen as architecture’s unique selling proposition in our neoliberal economy – couldn’t architecture define a more active stance toward the icon, appropriating it rather than succumbing to it? While the icon so far mainly serves as a propaganda tool to affirm the self-image of power-hungry corporations and political dictatorships, it could in fact be cast as generator of social space – a performative environment of a democratic society, rather than a dubious monument of control. For this, however, it will be necessary for architects to apply the iconic no longer to the object, but to space. Public space, for a change.

AALU_GROUNDLAB_METROPOLI WORKSHOP, SITGES, SPAIN

Landscape Urbanism students and Groundlab members finalised a one week intensive workshop in Sitges trying to come up with readings of the territory and new ways of re thinking the future of this coastal city in Catalonia. The event is part of a long term engagement of AALU + Groundlab with the Fundacion Metropoli, which fosters innovative research and cutting edge practice in urban design and planning. The work was presented and discussed with the Major of Sitges and other key decision makers during a final presentation. (images attached).

“[Scenarios] combine the rigour of theory and statistics with the essential flair and imagination necessary to the future of multifaceted issues embracing economy, society and the environment… Decision makers frequently blend scenarios …to generate hybrid policies…Used in this way the power of evidence based scenarios lies only partially in their accuracy: more significant is their capacity to stimulate ideas” Carrington, K. Alison McIntosh and Jim Walmsley, The Social Costs and Benefits of Migration into Australia. Department of Immigration and Citizenship. 8/8/2007
http://www.immi.gov.au/media/publications/research/social-costs-benefits/index.htm

12 PUBLICATIONS FOR LU

A dozen architectural publications (both paper and online) have recently shown a growing interest for the work done by Groundlab in the recently awarded competition entry for the development of Longgagn City Centre Regeneration.
PRINTED: Poloxigen (Australia), 306090 (USA), New Geographies (USA), Arca (Italy), diseñart (Spain), Mark (Holland), AJ (UK), AA Projects Review (UK)
ONLINE: Plataforma urbana (Chile), E-architect (UK), Baunetz (Germany), Arcprospect (International)

DEEP GROUND PROJECT MOVES FORWARD

Members of Groundlag chaired a five day workshop organized in Longgang and Shenzhen with the objective of pushing forward the development of Deep Ground Masterplan into the next design stage. The event included different stakeholders and decision makers within the political landscape of Longgang, as well as academics form ShenZhen University and members of Groundlab and InGame. The design team conducted a series of talks and discussions around strategic issues regarding design and management of public space, design concepts such as thickened ground and relational urbanism as well as infrastructure constraints.