Letter from China
Austin Williams | 28 December 2011 There has been much talk of China’s unsustainable property bubble recently with Western commentators taking unseemly delight in the prediction that China’s mighty economy is teetering on the brink. But reports of China’s imminent economic decline appear to be greatly exaggerated. After all, with current GDP growth slowing to a reasonably healthy 6 per cent, Chinese wealth creation...
This Christmas, let’s all lift a glass to mark the birth of Homo sapiens urbanus
Alastair Donald | 21 December 2011 The real problem today isn’t Eastern slums but the low horizons of Western urbanists. MORE than half the world’s population now lives in cities. And with 1m people every week migrating to emerging cities, all developing regions, including Africa, are expected to have more people living in urban than rural areas by 2030. Across the planet, Homo sapiens will have become Homo sapiens urbanus. In this,...
One Million Acres and No Zoning
‘One Million Acres and No Zoning’ by Lars Lerup; Architectural Association, 2011. 322pp Reviewed by Austin Williams | 21 November 2011 Henry Ford is reputed to have said that he had to “invent” the motor car in order to escape the crushing boredom of a mid-Western farm. Since then, the freedom of the open road has become emblematic of 20th century America’s size and its population’s desire, and...
After the Riots: what makes a city?
Michael Owens | 17 October 2011 The riots affected many places that have been the focus for urban regeneration and neighbourhood renewal. It’s a bitter pill for those of us in the business to swallow, but our efforts may have contributed to the problem rather than helped create the solution. Despite all the ‘New Deals’, engaged stakeholders, and ‘empowered’ communities, a significant proportion of our communities were prepared to...
Urban Design since 1945
‘Urban Design since 1945 – A Global Perspective’ by David Grahame Shane; John Wiley & Sons, 2011. 360pp Reviewed by Austin Williams | 31 August 2011 The world is changing and some of the past certainties, it seems, are not so certain any more. America’s economic woes and Europe’s anticipated double dip exemplify the fear of the future in the Western hemisphere. Similarly, a mere 30 years after the break up of the...
The housewife that changed the world?
‘The Death and Life of Great American Cities’ by Jane Jacobs; Random House, 1961. 458pp Reviewed by Alastair Donald | 31 July 2011 “From this house in 1961, a housewife changed the world.” When she died in 2005, the tributes and flowers on the pavement outside Jacobs’ former flat in Greenwich Village suggested the high esteem in which she is held by many designers who see her as having played a pivotal role in altering how we...
East vs West
Comparing the post-war literature & cinema of East and West Germany (1945-1990) Martha Williams | March 2011 On May 8th 1945, the war ended for Germany with the signing of the unconditional surrender for German forces. On the June 5th, the Allies signed a treaty proclaiming their authority over German territory: the country would be governed through four occupied zones belonging to Britain, France, the Soviet Union and the United...
The Energy Report
The Energy Report by WWF, Ecofys and AMO; January 2011, 253pp Reviewed by Austin Williams | February 2011 If you enjoy reading end of year accounts, or poring over corporate brochures, you will love The Energy Report – the eco-equivalent of a BP audit statement. Written by a huge number of people from WWF, together with some from Ecofys (a Dutch renewable energy consultancy), it has been designed by AMO, the consulting arm of...
Hi-di-Hi
Exploring the architecture of Alain de Botton Austin Williams | 25 January 2011 Billy Butlin, the funfair impresario, opened his first holiday camp in Skegness in 1936 offering high-quality breaks at relatively low prices. Seventy-five years later and Living Architecture (LA), Alain de Botton’s not-for-profit social enterprise is also developing seaside holiday homes on the south-east coast. Cheap they aren’t. For example, his Dune...
3,096 Days
‘3,096 Days’ by Natascha Kampusch; Penguin, 2010. 256pp Reviewed by Austin Williams | 10 January 2011 The agonising and ultimately redemptive tale of the trapped Chilean miners captured the world’s hearts and headlines. At the time of writing, the 33rd and final miner has just been released into euphoria, and into the spotlight, from their underground entombment. Peter Stanford writing in The Independent said that:...
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