Monday, March 11, 2013

Parliamentary Assembly                                    
Council of Europe
assembly@coe.int 
Doc. 1313415 February 2013

Industrial heritage in Europe

Report 1Committee on Culture, Science, Education and Media
Rapporteur: Ms Ismeta DERVOZ, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Group of the European People's Party

Summary

The tangible and intangible components of industrial heritage form an essential part of European shared
identity as they reflect a rich historic interaction through the transfer of skills and expertise, technology and processes across national boundaries.
However, the industrial heritage is highly vulnerable, most often lost for lack of awareness, documentation, recognition or protection, but also because of changing economic trends and difficult environmental issues or due to its overwhelming size and complexity. Public authorities should better understand and value the potential of industrial heritage, which can become a key element for sustainable territorial and socio-economic
regeneration. The report makes a number of practical recommendations to national decision-makers with a view to ensuring that the legacy of Europe’s Age of Industry is safeguarded for future generations. At the European level, UNESCO and the European Union are invited to engage with the Council of Europe in developing a European label for the industrial heritage and to support the campaign of the European Federation of Associations of Industrial and Technical Heritage (E-FAITH) for a European Industrial Heritage Year in 2015.

1. Reference to committee: Doc. 12677, Reference 3799 of 3 October 2011.

Tuesday, March 5, 2013

Docomomo Journal 47 (2012/2) - Global Design

DATE: 7/12/2012
an Introduction by
Ana Tostões, Chair of docomomo International
The study of Modern interior space and furniture is reinforced with the second 2012 docomomo Journal.
The variety, complexity and preservation case studies; or the discussion on materiality and techniques, explains the argument of this Journal: Global Design.
Coming back from the 12th International docomomo Conference held in Tapiola at the Espoo Cultural Center docomomo wishes to stress the Conference theme
“Survival of Modern, from Coffee Cup to General Plan”.
Following Richard Neutra expression “Survival through Design”, and Gropius statement “design from the cup of coffee to the general plan” ability, the aim is to face the new worldwide
challenges. In fact, I am sure that docomomo commitment and effort made through a competent network of professionals is each time more valuable, more necessary, and more imperative! We all know that times are changing, times are changing at high speed!
Thanks to Finland, the motto “Survival of Modern” justifies going deeper in the relation that connects form and function, esthetics and ethics. That’s also why the argument is Global Design. The aim of this collective and interdisciplinary reflexion is to contribute for the discussion that relates Modern heritage and interior space, common daily life and musealization of Modern Interior Spaces, gathered underneath a global strategy to better understand and preserve these delicate monuments. In fact, the interior space with all devices and furniture pieces is frequently neglected as an essential matter in safeguard interventions.

This issue wishes, in a certain sense, to pay tribute to education and pedagogic skills, to preservation and re-use approaches, in order to enlighten the relevance of sensorial and tactile comfort, economy and beauty, utility and simplicity; and at the same time, improving regional roots in order to fulfill the sense of the place.
Indeed, the small scale was an important theme at the International docomomo Conference ‘The Survival of Modern, from Coffee Cup to General Plan’, which, together with the Workshop and the Docotours, took place in Espoo, Finland, between August 2 and 13. During the Council Meeting, celebrated at the Espoo Cultural Center, a proposal to create an ISC on Interior Design was also discussed and hopefully it could be created in 2014. Seven new docomomo Chapters were also accepted: China, Georgia, Hong Kong, Macau, Iran, Lebanon and Ukraine, and the candidacy of docomomo Korea to organize the next International docomomo Conference in Korea in 2014, was approved. It was also an opportunity to strengthen links with the UIA, the Fondation Le Corbusier and ICOMOS 20th century committee. In the next two years, the International Specialist Committees will also have important challenges as you can read in their plans of action which have been presented in the docomomo Newsletter which has been retaken. In this Journal you will find a summary of the contents of the Conference, the Workshop and the Tours, written by their organizers, Timo Tuomi, Tommi Lindh, Olli Hakanen, Sirkkaliisa Jetsonen and Aino Niskanen. Finally, the keynote presentations by Juha Leiviskä, Juhani Pallasmaa, John Allan, Mikko Heikkinen and Anthony Vidler, reinforced the connection between docomomo and architectonic production. In this occasion we would like to thank Anthony Vidler for allowing us to publish his lecture on ‘Learning to Love Brutalism’.
Finally, I wish to thank Bárbara Coutinho who so powerfully helped us acting as guest editor of this ‘Global Design’ Dossier, continuing the work of the previous “Designing Modern Life” Journal, together with the involvement of architects, art historians and restorers who have generously shared with us their wide experience and their thought and theoretical reflection on the issue.

 

Monday, March 4, 2013

Visualizing a Walkable City - experience in Spain

walker-friendly urban policy in the city of Pontevedra in northwest Spain
- a fruitful example to follow
http://www.thepolisblog.org/2013/02/metrominuto-walking-map.html?goback=%2Egde_97473_member_218890541

proactive measures to reduce traffic

Pontevedra's city council produced a map that visualizes the distances and travel times between key places on foot at an average speed of five kilometers per hour

Free parking areas are marked to encourage visitors to leave their cars outside the city center.
Known as Metrominuto, the map has color-coded lines that resemble those of a subway guide.


"Metrominuto is an idea that can be easily transposed in cities that have 80,000 inhabitants (or less), of which there are more in Europe

http://www.thepolisblog.org/2013/02/metrominuto-walking-map.html?goback=%2Egde_97473_member_218890541