Articles with TAG: editor's

Text: Ștefan Ghenciulescu

Ask anyone, any intellectual (or even an architect, for the matter), what is more environmentally friendly – a house or a block of flats? – and for most of them the answer will be the house. In fact, it is not. I am not referring to individual examples, but to houses in general: the individual home today fatally involves a periphery location, which means occupying natural land, waste of resources – with less efficient infrastructure for transport and facilities etc., longer commutes – so  more pollution. Plus a bad ratio between usable square feet and the envelope and many other issues.

Text: Cosmin Caciuc

A big heavy topic for Expo Milano 2015: “Feeding the Planet. Energy for Life”. Its subdivisions have keywords such as tradition, creativity, innovation, technology, education, health, in reference to world food production and distribution; these might sound pompous and somewhat inert compared to the actual modest situation of a polluted planet, with many hungry mouths, troubled by conflicts and anxiety, and squandering, often irresponsible mankind.

Text: Cosmin Caciuc

I do not know whether it is good to venture so much as to say that the best architecture and city planning books have not been written by architects or city planners. I am not sure whether the best pamphlet that has been written (so for) on the concept of smart city is not Against the Smart City, by a non-architect like Adam Greenfield.

Text: Stefan Ghenciulescu

Recent public architecture operations in Romania make me mad. For example, the project for the protection of the Roman ruins in the historic city of Alba Iulia is a revolting shack, with the roof shaped as an open book. It’s tenth rate architecture, but obviously living up to the expectations of the City Hall. This project stands out by its ridiculousness, but it actually expresses a process which is ongoing, despite the crisis: grand public operations made without a competition, without public consultation, without even a debate about the program or the relationship with the city; good intentions, I am sure, but a lot of missed opportunities.