In recent weeks (something about tragic airline promotions), the notion of the cougar has been roaming the airwaves (probably more than our streets).  Rather than Baudelaire’s notion of a flaneur (the more placid experience of the city through walking), a more aggressive and sexually-charged urban exploration is gaining currency in our city’s lexicon. Read the rest of this entry »

Architecture has historically had a difficult relationship with fashion, and, despite the challenges of the Urbis generation, it continues to perpetrate an image of consistent fundamentals, along with its younger siblings: Urban Design and Town Planning. Read the rest of this entry »

Phil Jones‘ talk on last Wednesday (9 Sept 09) presented the idea of shared spaces (also known as naked streets) in the context of the council’s proposal to convert lower Cuba St into a shared space.

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What: A Place to Stay - a film about Salisbury Garden Court
When: Saturday July 11, 11.30am
Where: Paramount Cinema, Courtney Place

This film by Marie Russell and Shane Loader presents the history of Salisbury Court in Wadestown, and asks, what is the relationship between people, their community, and the architecture that surrounds and houses them?

flyer-for-a-place-to-stay-june-2009

PUBLIC LECTURE: WEDNESDAY 6TH MAY, VUW SCHOOL OF ARCHITECTURE / 17:30 DRINKS / 18:00 LECTURE

Kerstin is the director of Melbourne based architecture, landscape and urban design practice Kerstin Thompson Architects. The studio’s projects of varying scale “pursue the poetic possibilities of architecture rendered through an overall site vision that orchestrates a complementary organisation of landform, interiors, structures and services to achieve a multidimensional and sustainable environment.”

To mark her appointment as a Teaching Fellow at the School of Architecture, Kerstin will present her body of work, and with reference to her experiences as an Adjunct Professor at RMIT, discuss relationships between the production and teaching of architecture.

WWW.KERSTINTHOMPSON.COM

“Naked streets” or “Naked roads” - some even call them (more tamely) “Shared Spaces” - have apparently been around since the 1980s.   Credited to Hans Monderman, the Naked street idea is based on a psychological approach which supports designing roads to reflect the different cognitive skills needed in different transport situations.  Shared suburban spaces are contrasted to motorways and argued to need specific skills for their complex human context.  This whole area of thinking has developed more formally into the field of “psychological” or “second generation traffic calming.” Read the rest of this entry »

If you’re lucky (or unlucky depending on how you see it) you might be offered a lollipop by a WCC worker for obediently waiting for the lights at the Ghuznee/Cuba St intersection before crossing the road. There’s nothing quite like being greeted by a patronising lollipop and a “Congratulations for crossing the road legally.”

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