Today’s News - Wednesday, March 18, 2020
EDITOR'S NOTE: We woke up to an inbox filled with thoughtful observations and advice from some of our favorite critics and writers - all well worth spending time with. Of note is a focus on the importance of public parks, considering how many national and state park systems are closed (all New York State parks are open - and free!). It felt a bit frivolous to add news of proposed skyscrapers and mega-projects (that may or may not happen, under current circumstances) to the mix. We'll get back to such things tomorrow…
● Kimmelman: "Can city life survive coronavirus? Pandemics are anti-urban - social distancing runs against the way we have built our cities. Today's threat is another sort of challenge to solidarity. It is not a heat wave or a blitz. We will need to figure out a different approach, together."
● Boddy: Rather than eulogize his "colleague and hero" Gregotti, he offers "some speculations - a few unexpected connections - something [he] was very good at. There is one hugely positive impact on architecture and city-building that is emerging - the rediscovery of the importance of 'the public' - an infinitely better place to invest recovery funding than corporate bailouts" ("planetary hive-mind" included).
● Kamin on why cities' "strength is their weakness. The ghost-town emptiness of popular attractions underscores how the coronavirus has temporarily turned an essential, much-praised feature of urban life on its head. The joys of density will return once this tragic chapter is over."
● Saffron: "Throughout history, cities have found ways to make themselves more resilient. As chilling as COVID-19's viral assault has been, it's almost certain that cities will adapt again - we continue to gravitate to local parks," where "we can at least be alone in the presence of others."
● Bozikovic: "High Park is the closest thing Toronto has to a grand urban park, and it seemed the right place to go. Parks are lungs for the city, and they're medicine for us. We will be cautious. But we'll get outside into the grand places that our society has built. We each need to take a breath."
● Walker shares her own family's experience following San Francisco's shelter-in-place order: "My own gut-check has become this: If it feels 'normal' to you, it's probably risky to others - staying home might feel crushingly inadequate, but it is literally the most heroic thing we can do."
● Lam x 2: She considers "what COVID-19 means for Canadian architects" (applicable to architects everywhere): Systems' security when working from home; keeping staff morale up; cash flow - particularly for small firms; etc. "On an optimistic note, the unusual spatial practices demanded by the crisis may bring new awareness to the importance of design."
● She parses the Toronto Society of Architects' "guide to COVID-19 pandemic preparedness - a virtual space to share resources: Reliable Sources; Preparedness for your Studio; Social Distancing and Collaboration Tools (many free of charge for basic plans)."
● Waite parses AJ's Covid-19 survey that shows "significant regional differences; a mixed picture of practices' readiness for working through the lockdown - nearly 10% had still not made plans"; etc. + RIBA and the new architects' union weigh in.
● ICYMI: ANN feature: Weinstein uses a new British Museum exhibition catalogue as the starting point to delve into Piranesi's architectural imagination and why his architectural art matters today more than ever.
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Kimmelman: Can City Life Survive Coronavirus? Cities are epicenters of capital and creativity, designed to be occupied collectively. Pandemics are anti-urban, preying on our human desire for connection: ....coronavirus undermines our most basic ideas about community and, in particular, urban life...social distancing not only runs up against our fundamental desires to interact, but also against the way we have built our cities...For many urban systems to work properly, density is the goal, not the enemy...Today's threat is altogether another sort of challenge to solidarity...It is not a heat wave or a blitz...We will need to figure out a different approach, together.- New York Times |
Trevor Boddy: For Vittorio: The dismal reality of the COVID-19 pandemic has hit with the first death of a colleague and hero...Vittorio Gregotti...Rather than eulogize him and the others we’ll lose too soon, it is more in his spirit...to shape some speculations - a few unexpected connections - something [he] was very good at...The era of “Climate Change”...narrative has ended...The planetary hive-mind [is] only able to assimilate one huge existential threat at a time...When the economic recovery starts...architects are obliged to become the memory flywheels of conservation practices...we’ll need new rhetoric to advance our cause...There is one hugely positive impact on architecture and city-building that is emerging...the rediscovery...of the importance of “the public"...This is [a] once-generational opportunity for architects, to plan for the public spaces and public buildings that will be an infinitely better place to invest recovery funding than corporate bailouts.- Canadian Architect |
Blair Kamin: Why Chicago and other cities are vulnerable to the virus: Their strength is their weakness: The ghost-town emptiness at two of Chicago’s most popular attractions underscores how...coronavirus has temporarily turned an essential, much-praised feature of urban life...on its head...Density energizes cities by pouring people...into alluring public spaces...But now...[it] is suddenly a vice...the tension between density and distancing isn't limited to public spaces...In this time of social distancing, social media at least gives us the chance to engage...But life isn’t fully lived on a smartphone screen...The joys of density will return once this tragic chapter is over.- Chicago Tribune |
Inga Saffron: Philadelphia has endured plagues before. It adapted and became a better place: Is digital infrastructure the sanitation of our time? What does that mean for the future of cities? Because social distancing is not something that comes naturally to urban dwellers, densely occupied cities and towns have always been places where diseases have spread quickly...throughout history, cities have found ways to make themselves more resilient...As chilling as COVID-19’s viral assault has been...it’s almost certain that cities will adapt again...While viruses spread more quickly in cities, so do new ideas, culture, innovation and opportunities...we continue to gravitate to local parks...we can at least be alone in the presence of others...Here are some changes that may come to cities:- Philadelphia Inquirer |
Alex Bozikovic: The need for parks: In a time of sickness, we all need to take a breath: High Park is the closest thing Toronto has to a grand urban park, and it seemed the right place to go...we were keeping our two metres of distance. What better place to do it? For the millions of us who live in cities...green space is something we’ll have to seek out - in order to stay healthy, in body and in spirit. Parks are lungs for the city, and they’re medicine for us...We will be cautious. We’ll stay far from the playgrounds and we will touch no one. But we’ll get outside into the grand places that our society has built and maintained for us...We each need to take a breath. -- Frederick Law Olmsted- Globe and Mail (Canada) |
Alissa Walker: To stop coronavirus, we must start at home: The choices we make today will help those closest to us: ...there isn’t a whole lot of specific information provided about what you can and should actually do. Even six experts interviewed about the ethics of social distancing could not agree if certain activities should be avoided...That’s why our family is...following [San Francisco's] shelter-in-place order...My own gut-check has become this: If it feels “normal” to you, it’s probably risky to others...staying home might feel crushingly inadequate, but it is literally the most heroic thing we can do.- Curbed |
Elsa Lam: What COVID-19 means for Canadian architects: From office to home...One of the biggest challenges...is “providing ways...that maintain office security requirements”...Keeping staff morale up is also a challenge...Cash flow will be an issue...particularly for small firms...For architects with young children [school closures] poses an additional layer of challenge...Existing work...the most steady work at present seems to be long-horizon projects...On an optimistic note, the unusual spatial practices demanded by the crisis may bring new awareness to the importance of design. -- Toon Dreesen/Architects DCA; Tania Bortolotto; Omar Gandhi; Kevin Weiss/Weiss A+U; Janna Levitt/LGA Architectural Partners; Lawrence Bird/Sputnik Architecture; Christine Leu/Leu Webb Projects; Cynthia Dovell/Avid Architecture; Christine Lolley/Solares Architecture; Nicolas Demers-Stoddart/Provencher_Roy; Michael Green/MGA; Avery Gutherie & Wes Wilson/Teeple Architects- Canadian Architect |
Elsa Lam: TSA guide to COVID-19 Pandemic Preparedness: Toronto Society of Architects has created a virtual space to share resources that might be helpful for the architecture community...Reliable Sources: The following international organizations and local authorities have created dedicated websites; Pandemic Preparedness for your Studio; Social Distancing and Collaboration Tools: Many of the tools below are free of charge for basic plans.- Canadian Architect |
Richard Waite: Coronavirus survey: Profession shifts to home-working: ...AJ’s Covid-19 survey: ...there were significant regional differences...a mixed picture of practices’ readiness for working through the lockdown...nearly 10%...had still not made plans...United Voices of the World - Section of Architectural Workers (UVW-SAW)...said many practices had shown a lack of care for their staff’s health and wellbeing...many...praised the measures put in place by their employers...RIBA: "The government must ease the cash squeeze faced by many practices and their clients, and provide clarity on how it will keep the planning system operating and construction sites..."- The Architects' Journal (UK) |
ANN feature: Norman Weinstein: Piranesi Drawings: Why his architectural art matters more than ever: The exhibition catalogue for a new British Museum exhibition provokes questions about neglected levels of classical heritage.- ArchNewsNow.com |
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