Architexturez. wrote: > Austrian EU logo gets Estonian colours wrong > EUobserver.com - Brussels,Belgium > ... that," she added. The logo for the 2006 Austrian presidency of the > EU is the work of Dutch designer Rem Koolhaas. It reassembles the ... >
| aaaaaaaah! the architect as statesman. | or probably, going by his prada burning | remarks, raincoater. London - Koolhaas warning over Blair's Respect agenda By Will Hurst The government's controversial new Respect agenda threatens to suck the life out of Britain's public spaces, architect Rem Koolhaas warned this week. The Pritzker Prize winner took a swipe at prime minister Tony Blair's controversial anti-social behaviour policy, claiming it was 'excluding' and could lead to UK cities becoming sanitised and homogenised. Koolhaas, speaking at Cabe's Designing the Future conference in London this week, claimed that a combination of private sector-dominated redevelopment, risk-averse culture and a crackdown on anti-social behaviour were conspiring to create soulless cities. 'I am basically saying that cities should never become part of the Respect campaign and be associated with it,' he told BD after the speech. '[The Respect agenda] could be easily interpreted as introducing new exclusions... even the Respect symbol I find vaguely sinister.' Koolhaas also warned design watchdog Cabe not to be sidelined by the Respect agenda and criticised Cabe's approach in its recent 'Parkforce' campaign, which called for park staff to tackle anti-social behaviour. 'My point was to alert Cabe to the fact that they are now operating in a government that has set a particular tone. They have to be careful not to be seen as an extension of the campaign,' Koolhaas said. Cabe chief executive Richard Simmons acknowledged they were concerned about the development of public space. 'People are trying to bring so much order to public space and are losing the opportunity to create beauty,' he said. Cabe campaigns adviser Anna Penning-Rowsell said: 'There is a need to make places interesting and inspiring but also a need to make people safe and tackle problems with anti-social behaviour.' Koolhaas used Las Vegas as an example of how private sector-dominated regeneration and risk-averse development can 'drain a city of its lifeblood', saying: 'All the wildness and unpredictability of the city has not so much been tamed as been completely removed. We have surrendered vast sections of our privacy to protect the public realm.' Koolhaas said his 16ha masterplan for the redevelopment of White City in west London would create a 'chaotic' part of the city and strive to maintain diverse activities. Director of the Bartlett and public space expert Iain Borden agreed large parts of the public realm were being 'stripped' of perceived danger and risk but warned that architecture alone could not create excitement and buzz. 'He will not be able to guarantee vibrancy in his White City development,' he said. Borden also denied there was a danger of Cabe aping the Respect campaign. 'There are certain parts of Cabe which are very aware of the value of risk and are trying to stimulate debate about this,' he added. _______________________________________________ in-enaction mailing list http://mail.architexturez.net/mailman/listinfo/in-enaction + Architexturez collaborative at http://portal.architexturez.org/
