ARCHITECTURE AND QUALITY OF LIFE - Workshop

Thematic Area 3
ARCHITECTS' COUNCIL of EUROPE
Organised in conjunction with the celebration of the 45th Anniversary of the establushment of the Union of Architects in Bulgaria (UAB)

The main purpose of the workshop is to make tangible progress on the tasks identified for 2010 & 2011 highlighting specific actions that must be planned in order to advance the policies of the ACE.

DIARY OF THE MEETING
Sofia, 24-28th October 2010, Bulgaria

SUNDAY 24th October 2010
Walking guided tour in the historical centre of Sofia
(photos by Ljubinka Stoilova)

The group of foreign guests consisted of Selma Harrington(President of Architects' Council of Europe - ACE), Adrian Joyce (Director of ACE), Antonio Borghi (Chairman of WG on Urban Issues, ACE), Dirk Mattheeuws (BEL-OAB) and Malgorgata Włodarczyk (Pl). Accompanying persons from Bulgarian side were Rositsa Zlatanova (leader of the UAB delegation to ACE), Elena Dimitrova (representative of UAB in ACE – WG of Urban Issues), Annie Dobrinova (representative of UAB in ACE – WG of Sustainable Development), Diana Hristova (Chamber of Architects in Bulgaria) and Ljubinka Stoilova (representative of UAB in ACE – WG of Research), as well as the guide Georgi Todorov.
The group started from the Headquarters of UAB, took a look on the open air architectural exhibition and passed by the building of the National Assembly. The next points of interest were the crypt of the Patriarchal Cathedral of St. Alexander Nevsky, the Russian church of St. Nikolay, the National Archaeological Museum and the building of the Presidency.
After entering the Rotunda church of St. George the group went to the Orthodox cathedral of St. Nedelya and the church of St. Spas under the edifice of UniCredit “Bulbank”. Then the foreign quests went back to the Headquarters of UAB for a reception by the Chairman of UAB.


Elena Dimitrova, Rositsa Zlatanova, Annie Dobrinova, Antonio Borghi, Adrian Joyce











Selma Harrington, Malgorgata Włodarczyk, Diana Hristova






Diana Hristova, Rositsa Zlatanova, Adrian Joyce, Antonio Borghi, Annie Dobrinova, Dirk Mattheeuws, Elena Dimitrova.














Dirk Mattheeuws at the Presidency














Antonio Borghi and Selma Harrington











Dirk Mattheeuws, Adrian Joyce, Selma Harrington, Georgi Todorov, Annie Dobrinova, Diana Hristova,










Dirk Mattheeuws, Adrian Joyce, Antonio Borghi, Selma Harrington, Georgi Todorov,












Antonio Borghi, Selma Harrington, Annie Dobrinova, Dirk Mattheeuws, Georgi Todorov, Adrian Joyce,









Antonio Borghi, Selma Harrington, Dirk Mattheeuws











Diana Hristova, Adrian Joyce, Georgi Todorov, Antonio Borghi









More pictures from his walk along Sofia have been posted by Antonio Borghi on
http://welldesignedandbuilt.wordpress.com/2010/11/02/sunday-walk-in-sofia/




MONDAY 25th October 2010
Workshop - UAB Headquarters
Sofia 1504, 11 Krakra Str., Bulgaria

The workshop was joined by:
Albert Dubler (UIA Region I Vice President),
Lisa Siola (GR - UIA Region IІ Vice President),
Selma Harrington (President of ACE),
Adrian Joyce (Director of ACE),
Vladimir Petrovic (CR - ACE Executive Board Member),
Lionel Dunet (Coordinator of ACE-TA3),
Silvia Demeter Lowe (RO-OAR),
Dirk Mattheeuws (CNOA BEL),
Sara Van Rompaey (CNOA BEL) - Minutes
Malgorgata Włodarczyk (POL),
Dalibor Borak (CZ - ACE Executive Board Member, Chair of WG on Environment and Sustainable Architecture),
Jurgen Rauch (D - VFA)
Antonio Borghi(IT – Chair of ACE WG Urban Issues, ),
Didier Proste (FR – UNSFA),
Eugen Pansecu(RO - OAR),
Rositsa Zlatanova (leader of the UAB delegation to ACE),
Elena Dimitrova (representative of UAB in ACE – WG of Urban Issues),
Annie Dobrinova (representative of UAB in ACE – WG of Sustainable Development),
Nikolas Galabov (Chamber of Architects in Bulgaria, Representative in ACE),
Ljubinka Stoilova (representative of UAB in ACE – WG of Research)








From left to right:
Sara Van Rompaey, Malgorgata Włodarczyk, Dalibor Borak, Lisa Siola, Adrian Joyce, Lionel Dunet, Selma Harrington








From left to right:
Vladimir Petrovic (EB Member), Silvia Demeter Lowe (OAR), Dirk Mattheeuws(CNOA B ), Sara Van Rompaey (CNOA B ), Malgorgata Włodarczyk (Pl), Dalibor Borak (CZ)








From left to right:
Vladimir Petrovic , Silvia Demeter Lowe, Dirk Mattheeuws, Sara Van Rompaey, Malgorgata Włodarczyk, Dalibor Borak, Lisa Siola







From left to right:
Silvia Demeter Lowe, Sara Van Rompaey, Albert Dubler (UIA Region I Vice President), Lisa Siola






From left to right:
Antonio Borghi, Elena Dimitrova, Eugen Pansecu, students









From left to right:
Sara Van Rompaey, Malgorgata Włodarczyk, Dalibor Borak, Lisa Siola, Adrian Joyce, Lionel Dunet, Selma Harrington









From left to right:
Silvia Demeter Lowe, Dirk Mattheeuws, Sara Van Rompaey, Malgorgata Włodarczyk, Dalibor Borak, Lisa Siola, Adrian Joyce









From left to right:
Vladimir Petrovic , Silvia Demeter Lowe, Dirk Mattheeuws, Sara Van Rompaey, Malgorgata Włodarczyk, Dalibor Borak



The cocktail in the evening was held in the rooms of the former Municipal Mineral Baths that is in course of reconstruction to premise the future Historical Museum of Sofia

























SATELLITE EVENTS

WEDNESDAY 27th October 2010
100th Anniversary Mineral Baths in Bankya
A VISIT TO BANKYA AND THE EXHIBITION
IN FRONT OF THE MINERAL BATHS IN PARK “KESTENITE"
(photos by Maya Buzhashka and Petar Iokimov)





Sara Van Rompaey, Dirk Mattheeuws,
Maya Buzhashka (BG), Ljubinka Stoilova (BG), Vesselina Nikolova (BG)















































From left to right:
Sara Van Rompaey, Ljubinka Stoilova, Dirk Mattheeuws, Vesselina Nikolova


























From left to right:
Vesselina Nikolova, Ljubinka Stoilova, Petar Iokimov, Maya Buzhashka, Dirk Mattheews (photo: Sara Van Rompaey)

























Sara Van Rompaey, Petar Iokimov (BG), Dirk Mattheeuws
































































THURSDAY 28th October 2010
NATIONAL BALNEOLOGY RESORT BANKYA
PROSPECTIVE FOR DEVELOPMENT
SEMINAR.
ROOM 2, HEADQUARTERS OF THE UAB, 11 KRAKRA STR., SOFIA
(photos: Maya Buzhashka)

















Inauguration of the seminar by the Chairman of the UBA - MArch Georgi Bakalov































I. PAST
10:00–10:15 JUBILEE EXHIBITION „100TH ANNIVERSARY MINERAL BATHS IN BANKYA”.
A COMPARATIVE SYNTHESIS OF THE RESORT SITE AND MINERAL BATHS
DEVELOPMENT. M.ARCH.LJUBINKA STOILOVA, PH.D., OLD SOFIA MUNICIPAL
ENTERPRISE WITH MUSEUM















10:15–10:30 STYLISTIC PECULIARITIES OF THE BUILDING OF THE MINERAL BATHS IN BANKYA.
SEN. RES. ASSOC., M.ARCH. PETAR IOKIMOV, UNION OF ARCHITECTS IN BULGARIA
















II. PRESENT
10:30–10:45 BANKYA AS A DISTRICT OF THE SOFIA MUNICIPALITY; THE MASTER PLAN OF SOFIA
M.ARCH. PETAR DIKOV, CHIEF ARCHITECT OF SOFIA MUNICIPALITY
















10:45–11:00 THE EXPERIENCE OF VARSHETZ IN ORGANISATION AND FINANCEMENT OF THE
RESORT’S DEVELOPMENT - BORIANA BONCHEVA, MAYOR OF VARSHETZ
MUNICIPALITY















11:00–11:15 EUROPEAN EXPERIENCE IN CONTEMPORARY FUNCTIONING OF HISTORICAL
BATHS BUILDINGS - M.ARCH.LJUBINKA STOILOVA, SEN.RES.ASSOC. M.ARCH.
PETAR IOKIMOV
11:15–11:30 THE EXPERIENCE OF THE HOT SPRINGS’ USE IN JAPAN - ASSOC.PROF. M ARCH.
MILENA METALKOVA-MARKOVA, UNI. ARCHITECTURE, CIVIL ENGINEERING AND
GEODESY, UACEG















III. FUTURE
12:00–12:15
NATIONAL BALNEOLOGICAL CENTRE BANKYA - PROSPECTIVE FOR DEVELOPMENT
M. ARCH. PAVLINA K KOEVA - RATCHEVA, (HONS) UAB, RIBA, RIAS






























12:15–12:30 OPPORTUNITIES FOR EXPLOITATION OF THE MINERAL WATER RESOURCES OF
THE CAPITAL CITY OF SOFIA - ARCH. HRABAR POPOV
















12:30–12:45
OPPORTUNITIES FOR EXPLOITATION OF THE MINERAL WATER RESOURCES OF
THE CAPITAL CITY OF SOFIA.
MARTIN ZAIMOV, VICE CHAIRMAN OF THE SOFIA MUNICIPAL COUNCIL.

















12:45–13:00
"BANKYA - BALNEORESORT. SHARED SPACES" - DIPLOMA WORK, URBAN PLANNING DEPARTMENT UACEG,SOFIA - M.Sc. Urbanist THEODORA KALCHINOVA

















13:00–15:00 DISCUSSIONS

Central Railway Station in Stuttgart - a Modern Monument of culture at risk / Централната гара в Щутгарт - модерен паметник на културата в риск

Централната железопътна гара в Щутгарт -
творба на известния немски архитект Паул Бонац, преподавател на редица български архитекти, учили в Германия - е застрашена от разрушаване.

ДОКОМОМО Германия е предприела протестна акция чрез ДОКОМОМО Интернешънъл
в защита целостта на сградата.

Dear Docomomo friends,
We have received this information regarding the demolition of the northern wing of the Stuttgart Central Station (see the attached photos and further photos below; see also www.kopfbahnhof-21.de). We invite you to spread this information and collaborate in the best way possible. Docomomo International is actively supporting this campaign.

Kind regards,
Ivan Blasi, Secretary
Docomomo International






ДОКОМОМО Германия обяснява:
* Since Friday night the German Railway company prepares the demolition of the northern wing of the Stuttgart Central Station (advanced to August) protected by hundreds of policemen against thousands of citizens (see the attached photos and further photos below; see also www.kopfbahnhof-21.de)







Ето писмото на ДОКОМОМО Германия до отговорните институции

Dear Sir, dear Madam,
the recent happenings in the city of Stuttgart may not be interesting for you*, but if ever you don’t want to allow politicians destroying important buildings without necessity, please get active.

I accuse the responsible politicians of cultural vandalism and of deficient democratic respect. Because of a lack of time you’ll find the attachment only in the German version entitled “Stuttgart 21 – The Vandals are before the town gates”). However, in case you want this unique building entirely to be preserved please write a letter or send an e-mail (e.g. forwarding this e-mail with your comment) to the following persons to stop this vandalism:

Bundeskanzleramt
Bundeskanzlerin
Dr. Angela Merkel
Willy-Brandt-Straße 1
D-10557 Berlin
http://www.bundeskanzlerin.de/Webs/BK/De/Service/Kontakt/kontakt.html

Herrn
Dr. Rüdiger Grube
Vorsitzender des Vorstands der
Deutsche Bahn AG
Potsdamer Platz 2
D-10786 Berlin
ruediger.grube@deutschebahn.com

Herrn
OB Dr. Wolfgang Schuster
Rathaus
D-70173 Stuttgart
wolfgang.schuster@stuttgart.de

or inform your local newspaper
Sincerely,
Dr. Matthias Roser

DOCOMOMO International Conference - Tours

Kind invitation for partcipation in the postconference tours of DOCOMOMO in Mexico
by Ivan Blasi, Secretary,
Docomomo International

A MoMo landmark at risk

From: Docomomo International
Subject: International Campaign for the Conservation of the Mann Auditorium
Thursday, May 20, 2010, 11:15 AM


Dear Docomomo friends,

Docomomo Israel chapter has warned us that The Mann Auditorium, included in "The Modern Movement in Architecture – Selections from the DOCOMOMO Registers" edited by Sharp D. & Cooke C. and one of the country’s finest cultural landmarks, is threatened due to changes that the municipality wants to introduce.















We encourage you to participate in the international campaign http://www.petition.fm/petitions/mannauditorium to protect the building.

You will find more information below.


Kind regards,

Ivan Blasi
Secretary
Docomomo International


Please read and support our struggle to save an architectural Masterpiece!
To support the public protest and to sign the petition,
Click on the link below and forward it to your friends.

http://www.petition.fm/petitions/mannauditorium

Dennis Sharp passed away

Dear Docomomo friends,
It is with regret and sadness that we have to inform you that Dennis Sharp, joint-chair of Docomomo United Kingdom, died last week.

His contribution to Docomomo has been very important and intense. We have learnt from his opinions, points of view, texts and works and therefore it is a great loss for Docomomo and the whole architectural community.

We wish his family to have enough courage to come over this difficult situation.
Kind regards,

Ana Tostões
Chair
Docomomo International

Ivan Blasi
Secretary
Docomomo International




Dennis Sharp (1933-2010)
a British architect, professor, curator, historian, author and editor.

Dennis Sharp is a highly respected member of the architectural profession. He was RIBA Vice President from 1991 to 1993 and National Council member from 1990 to 1994. In 1992 he helped set up the RIBA Architecture Centre and was consequently Chair of the Architecture Centre Committee from 1996 to 1999. DS has published a number of authoritative books on architecture, which have been translated into many languages including Chinese, Spanish, French and Japanese. Titles include: A Visual History of 20th Century Architecture, The Picture Palace and Expressionism.

Professional Appointments
2003-04 Consultant/ Adviser on British PFI Schools for the Japan PFI Association.
1994-present Nominator: Aga Khan Award for Architecture since its inception.
1999-present Chairman: DOCOMOMO UK.
1994-00 Member AA Council and Hon Secretary.
1991-93 RIBA Vice President (and National Council member 1990-94;1996-99) Chair: Architecture Center Committee.
1977-present Director: CICA (International Committee of Architectural Critics)
1991 Professor and Academic Adviser: International Academy of Architecture
1966-present Member: Society of Authors.

Academic Appointments
Dennis has held many academic posts as Visiting Critic, Lecturer or External Examiner at UCL, RCA, North London Poly, Oxford, Cambridge and Sheffield Universities. In addition he has been Visiting Professor at many universities:
1959-68 Lecturer in Architecture: Liverpool and Manchester Universities
1968-82 Head of History, Arts and History Dept.(1968-72) and Senior Lecturer, AA School of Architecture London
1980 Visiting Professor: Columbia University, NY
1984 Visiting Professor: Adelaide University SA
1968-70 Visiting Professor: Royal University of Malta
1998 Visiting Professor: University of Otaniemi Finland
1996-99 Special Professor in Architecture, University of Nottingham

Editorial Appointments
1962-70 NW Correspondent Architectural Design
1964-70 Editor Architecture North West
1967-83 AA General Editor. AA Quarterly, AA Papers
1998-present Executive Editor: World Architecture: Journal of the International Academy of Architecture) and International Architecture and Construction
2000-present L'Architettura Rome London Correspondent
Higher Education
1960-63 Leverhulme Research Fellow in Architecture, University of Liverpool School of Architecture
1954-57 Architectural Association School of Architecture, London
1951-54 Articled pupil, Luton School of Art.
1945-51 Bedford Modern School.


In 1991, Sharp became a professor at the International Academy of Architecture[1] (IAA) in Sofia, Bulgaria.

Sharp participated in the international architecture symposium "Mensch und Raum" (Man and Space) at the Vienna University of Technology (Technische Universität Wien) in 1984, which received much international attention. Other participants included Justus Dahinden, Pierre Vago, Bruno Zevi, Jorge Glusberg, Otto Kapfinger, Frei Otto, Paolo Soleri, Ernst Gisel, and Ionel Schein.

Since 1977 Sharp was Chairman of the International Committee of Architectural Critics. From 1991 to 1993 he was Vice President of the Royal Institute of British Architects. In 1992 he was a co-founder of the RIBA Architecture Centre and served as its chairman until 1996.

Dennis Sharp was a partner in Dennis Sharp Architects (DSA) in Hertford and London. Projects include the award-winning Strawdance Studio, the renovation of the major Listed Buildings at Royal Ascot Racecourse (with HOK Sport), house conversions in Cambridge and Hertford and the renovation of Foster's Renault Centre Swindon. He was also Co-Chair of DOCOMOMO in UK.

Sharp was the author and editor of several books, including Modern Architecture and Exrpessionism, London: Longman,1966, "The Picture Place" London: Evelyn "The Bauhaus", Phaidon, "Twentieth Century Architecture. A Visual History" (4th edition:2002) and The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Architects and Architecture (1991) as well as surveys of the work of Calatrava, Nocoletti, England and Kurokawa. Recent publications include the new translation of Hermann Muthesius's The English House', Frances Lincoln, 2007.

http://www.sharparchitects.co.uk/DSA_FLASH_LAUNCH.html
http://www.sharpresolutions.com/
http://worldcat.org/identities/lccn-n50-22232
http://www.libriartis.ro/carti/?id=991
http://www.architekt.de/Bekannte_Architekten/dennis_sharp.php

Световен ден за опазване на паметниците на културата и забележителните места

18th of April 2010 - International Day for Monuments and Sites

On the proposal of ICOMOS, 18 April was endorsed as The International Day for Monuments and Sites by UNESCO in 1983. This special day offers an opportunity to raise public awareness concerning the diversity of the world’s heritage and the efforts that are required to protect and conserve it, as well as to draw attention to its vulnerability. For several years now, ICOMOS suggests a topic to be highlighted on this occasion. This has allowed our members and our committees to hold activities, conferences, colloquia or other events to raise awareness on this cultural heritage among the public, the owners or the public authorities by linking a global theme to local or national realities.



http://www.international.icomos.org/centre_documentation/bib/modernheritageproperties.pdf
http://www.international.icomos.org/centre_documentation/bib/worldheritage-industrialsites.pdf


Theme for 2010 – “The Heritage of Agriculture”
Celebrate the world’s heritage on 18 April 2010!
A contribution to the United Nations 2010 International Year of Biodiversity
http://www.international.icomos.org/18thapril/2010/18_April_2010_Agricultural%20Heritage_Eng_20100323.pdf?lng=en&menuID=9&submenuID=7&idnews=278

Modern Movement Architecture and Urban Design in Eastern Mediterranean Cities

Dear friends:
Docomomo International and the Fundació Mies van der Rohe organise a debate session within the frame of the Coup de Dés programme, that provide an opportunity to discuss Modern Movement Architecture and Urban Design in Eastern Mediterranean Cities, and to analyse contemporary interventions.

Free entrance
Limited seats

Dear Docomomo friends,
2010 is the 120th anniversary of the birth of Konstantin Melnikov. The Melnikov House (1927-1929) is under threat of being taken into private hands, against the desires of the author of the house and of his son Viktor (1914-2006), well-known artist and custodian of the house for 30 years.

Please, read the Press Release document enclosed.
We will keep you updated with more information regarding the campaign to protect the building.

Kind regards,

Ana Tostoes, Chair Docomomo International
Ivan Blasi, Secretary General, Docomomo International


The Melnikov House (1927-1929) is under threat of being taken into private hands, against the desires of the author of the house, Konstantin Melnikov (1890-1974) celebrated architect of the Avant-garde period, and of his son Viktor (1914-2006), well-known artist, and custodian of the house for 30 years.

It was stipulated in Viktor Melnikov’s will that the house should become a State Museum to Konstantin Melnikov and himself (father and son.) Viktor’s daughter, Yekaterina Karinskaya is the executor of the will and is currently resident in the house.

However, the owner of half of the house, former director of property developing company Rosbuilding, Senator Sergei Gordeyev, wants to gain full ownership of the house and open a privately owned museum there. Mr. Gordeyev has stated that he does not want to honour Viktor Melnikov’s wishes either that should be a museum to father and son nor that it should be State owned.

In 2007, Mr Gordeyev founded the International Melnikov House Committee (IMHC) from representatives of the Russian and international cultural and architectural communities and architectural conservation bodies. Many members of the IMHC fear that Mr Gordeyev perceives the body as having a purely decorative character: the IMHC met once but since then have only heard from Mr Gordeyev in the form of a single reply to a collective IMHC letter. (Please see MAPS website for all IMHC correspondence www.maps-moscow.com)

Members of the IMHC listed below firmly believe that the wishes of Konstantin and Viktor Melnikov must be upheld in decisions concerning the future of the house.

Over the last five years, court cases have been in process, addressing the issue of the ownership of the property and archive. Formally, the instigators of the court proceedings are the younger daughter of Viktor Melnikov, Yelena, and her cousin Alexei Ilganaev. Mr Gordeyev actively supports them and participates in these processes with the aim of acquiring the entirety of the house and three quarters of Konstantin Melnikov’s archive.

David Sarkisyan, former Director of Moscow’s Shchusev State Architecture Museum, and member of the IMHC, who died in January this year, played an important regulating role in this matter.

We members of the IMHC believe that the Melnikov House is in jeopardy. We believe that the Russian Ministry of Culture must come forward to claim and defend the portion of the house left to the Russian State and people by Viktor Melnikov. We believe that the Russian Ministry of Culture has a responsibility to negotiate with all parties interested in the future of the house.

If action is not taken now, the Russian State, is putting the Melnikov House at risk, and in doing so is denying the Russian people and the international community their legacy. 2010 is the 120th anniversary of the birth of Konstantin Melnikov.
signed:
Clementine Cecil (Moscow Architecture Preservation Society)
Jean-Louis Cohen (University of Paris, Institute of Fine Arts, New York University)
Nataliya Dushkina (Moscow Architecture Institute)
Yekaterina Karinskaya (granddaughter of Konstantin Melnikov)
Anke Zalivako (Technical University of Berlin)

All press enquiries should go to:
MAPS Trustee and IMHC member Clementine Cecil +44 7968 003 595
clem@maps-moscow.com
IMHC member Natalia Dushkina
IMHC member Jean-Louis Cohen
IMHC member Yekaterina Karinskaya (granddaughter of Konstantin Melnikov)
+7 499 241 1873

http://www.melnikovhouse.org/home.php
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Konstantin_Melnikov
http://translate.google.bg/translate?hl=bg&langpair=en%7Cbg&u=http://www.maps-moscow.com/%3Fchapter_id%3D139

Арх. Радослав Радославов

Повод за този пост е една дискусия в блога на WhAT Association за изложбата "Преоткрий София - 130 години столица" относно къщата на Недков и кооперацията на Недков на бул. "Витоша" 48.

Тук публикувам снимки на 4 произведения от архитект Радослав Радославов и неговия племенник Константин Джангозов.
И двамата са учили при Огюст Пере в Париж.
Радославов завършва 1914 г. след като е учил заедно с Ле Корбюзие, а Джангозов - се дипломира през 1934 г.
Ето едни от най-добрите примери на българския предвоенен модернизъм в София:


двете жилищни кооперации - на Недков и Урумов на бул. Витоша 48 и 59 и ул. "Неофит Рилски";






Къща Платнаров на бул. Хр. Смирненски 36;



Апартаментна кооперация на бул. В. Левски 66 (надстроена наскоро от арх. Стефан Добрев за собственото му ателие-мезонет).

И четирите сгради са в София, а проектите са от периода 1937-40 г.

Stop the Disfigurement of John Hejduk's Berlin Tower

John Hejduk Tower defaced
Berlin, 18th March 2010

Concern is growing in the architectural community at the news of an ongoing, unsympathetic refurbishment of the 'Kreuzberg Tower' in Berlin - a rare building by the late John Hejduk.

The 'Tower' - actually a suite comprising a thin, 14-storey tower set between two 5-storey wings - is one of only a handful of built works by this influential architect. Berlin has three examples, all

social housing schemes built as part of the IBA 1987 international building exhibition.

The Kreuzberg Tower ensemble is typical of Hejduk's late work, exhibiting an intense fascination with simple geometric forms, narrative mythologies and anthropomorphic symbolism. Hejduk's three Berlin schemes bucked the colourful post-modern trends of the time with a subdued colour palette of grey and green, described by the architect as homage to the unique sky and the built fabric of the city. The present owners acquired the buildings recently as a result of a foreclosure, which followed many years of neglect. As part of ongoing refurbishment works, they have published images of the planned changes showing the removal of the distinctive sun shades over windows, enlarged balconies, and a new colour scheme in a white and bright pink, described by managers BerlinHaus Verwaltung GmbH as "tasteful living" and "apartments in Bauhaus style". In parallel with the renovation, current tenants are being forced to move out as a result of drastic rent increases.

Doctor Renata Hejduk, the daughter of the John Hejduk and an architectural historian, contacted the owner earlier this year to discuss the building alterations, but received only a dismissive

response. She commented: "I tried everything I could to get them to stop and at least consult with the Estate and other architects who were interested in helping to preserve them. They were completely uninterested and felt their facade changes would be much better than the original."

John Hejduk, best known as one of the 'New York Five' group that included Peter Eisenmann and Richard Meier, and as Dean of the Cooper Union School of Art and Architecture in New York from 1972 until 2000.

Links:
Professor Renata Hejduk, PhD - Assistant Professor, Arizona State
University, School of Architecture and Landscape Architecture.
Contact: Renata.Hejduk@asu.edu

Blogs carrying the story:
http://www.architectureinberlin.com/?p=1181
http://www.slab-mag.com/

Developer Berlinhaus:
http://www.berlinhaus.de

and links to their proposal images:
http://tinyurl.com/yhfkupv
http://tinyurl.com/yf7yxqp

Article in the Berliner Zeitung regarding rent increases.
http://tinyurl.com/yfj4d7g

Online Petition:
http://www.petitiononline.com/hejduk/petition.html