Skyscrapers For Seniors

The Clare, developed and operated by the Franciscan Sisters of Chicago Service Corp and designed by Ralph Johnson, a principal at the Chicago office of Perkins+Will, is a 54 story building that seeks to cater to the baby boomers and retired urban dwellers and give them a new home in which to grow old.

The building located on 55 E. Pearson St nestles into the cityscape as its overall building mass was designed to be as slim as possible with an entire floor plate just under 12,000 square feet to fit in with the least amount of site disturbance and provide residents with a community fostered environment. Though the building is practically self-sufficient, many outside amenities are within walking distance.

The Clare has been designed differently from most new senior mid to highrise communities as the attempt was to create "stacked suburban homes" with environments as similar to suburban communities the residents just left. Hence they don't feel like they are in a "senior home" but more like they are just simply at "home." The design also combines individual apartments and common spaces such as workout rooms and dining areas. While most of its 334 apartments are for independent, able-bodied seniors, the rest offer assisted living and skilled nursing similar to hospital care.

The design of the interior seeks to take advantage of the views and allows residents to have unique views from almost each unit. One of the most impressive features occurs at the building’s northeast corner, where you discover that the vertical slot cut into the curving exterior is not just for looks. It opens the corridors of the independent living units to natural light and lake views, helping residents orient themselves.

Equally impressive are "high-ceilinged," light-filled communal spaces, notably a hotel-like, three-story atrium that extends from the 17th to the 19th floors, and a 53rd floor gathering space with spectacular lake views. Anything that cuts down on the sameness of endlessly repeating floors is welcome and both Johnson and the Franciscan Sisters are very pleased with the outcome though there aren't enough residents in the building just yet to be able to accurately judge the its success.

For the city that brought us the highrise, this is indeed a welcome addition and I am always in support of new senior living designs that make for places to "enjoy life and grow old" rather than places to "go be depressed and finally die!"

Still, I think that Ralph Johnson could have managed the orientation of the building a little better as the western facade practically blocks views to the John Hancock for those who live in River North and has drawn criticism from many neighbors and Chicago residents in general. Other than this, I think that the building was designed well and for those that feel that it is too monolithic, I would say that it does at least try to not be a site intervention, and be too different from its surroundings. Also, until we are sure just how well seniors interact within highrise dwellings, we shouldn't try to create any overly flamboyant forms for senior living.




Images obtained from featuresblogs.chicagotribune.com and graphics8.nytimes.com/images/2007/03/29

Armani Opens Megastore In Manhattan

At a recent star-studded event that included Leonardo Di Caprio, Victoria Beckham and Robert De Niro, Armani cut the ribbon to the new 12,000-square foot building in Manhattan designed by Italian architects Massimiliano and Doriana Fuksas complete with a massive staircase and an Italian restaurant nestled at the top and faces the Bergdorf Goodman department store.

It location is pretty symbolic as Bergdorf Goodman bought Armani's first women's collection 35 years ago, Armani explained in a blog for the New York Times this week. ''Only six pieces, but I was walking on air. Now I have my own store across the street. Look what happens when you have a dream!''

''This is not just a great architectural masterpiece but is also a vote of confidence in the future of New York as a fashion capital,'' Bloomberg said at the opening.

In the midst of the worst economic crisis in recent history, Amani was asked if he thought he would be able to sell out the $10,000 dresses in the store displays but he expressed high optimism that the super wealthy, who are his main target group anyway, will continue to be supportive. "What else will they spend their money on?" he said.

Indeed!




Image obtained by: /www.esquire.com
For more information, check: abcnews.go.com/Business/story?id=6921536&page=1

Polar Science Station

Belgium opened a new €20 million "zero emissions" polar science station in Antarctica on Sunday, returning to the continent to study climate change 42 years after closing its first base there.

The Princess Elisabeth research hub is totally energy-self-sufficient and also aims not to emit any carbon dioxide, according to the International Polar Foundation, which runs the base.

The octagonal, spaceship-like base sits on stilts on a ridge a few kilometers north of the Soer Rondane Mountains. It will focus on analyzing nearby deep ice shelves.

The station's roof is covered by solar panels, designed to provide the bulk of energy needed to run the isolated post. Other energy will come from large wind turbines.

The base is expected to have a lifespan of 25 years and will conduct research in climatology, glaciology and microbiology. Teams of scientists, including glaciologists, are already at work there from Belgium, Japan, France, Britain and the United States.

The station was inaugurated Sunday by the Belgian defense minister, Pieter De Crem, and other government officials.

"It is really important that as a small country we can show our participation in large international efforts here in Antarctica," De Crem told VRT television from Antarctica.

Maaike Van Cauwenbergh, from the Belgian Science Policy Office, said the base is in an isolated area "where there has been little research done." She said it cost €20 million, or $26 million, to build and was in a vast 1,000-kilometer, or 600-mile, zone between the Russian and Japanese research stations.

The Belgian government partially finances the public-private project.

The International Polar Foundation said the new station "raises new standards" in research on the inhospitable polar continent.

"The Princess Elisabeth station attests that there is growing public interest in projects carrying a message of sustainable development, especially in terms of energy management," the polar group said in a statement.

"The conception of a 'zero emission' building capable of standing up to the extreme conditions in the Antarctic goes to show that similar techniques can also be deployed in more temperate areas of the world," it added.

Belgium closed its first science station in Antarctica in 1967.

The Associated Press. Feb 15th 2009. www.iht.com/articles/2009/02/15/europe/belgium.php

Define Dubai's Skyline. A Sign Of Vitality Or Is It Just Crass?

I've come across a couple of articles in magazines and newspapers in which each writer berates the other's accounts and opinions of Dubai and the emirates' continued redefinition of revitalization and building construction technology. In her Feb 9th article in the guardian, Germaine Greer describes her recent visit to Dubai as "disappointing" and goes on to say, "from its artificial islands to its boring new skyscraper, Dubai's architecture is beyond crass." Wow! Meanwhile, Siobhan Campbell in her response article on the 18th in the same paper, describes Greer's remarks as, "lacking insight, and panders to the media pastime of rejoicing in the supposedly burst bubble of Dubai's prosperity. So...is there a middle ground here?

First of all, both Greer and Campbell are 6-8 months behind times and don't seem to really know the real state of affairs in Dubai where all building construction has come to a screeching halt. I've outlined this before in past articles, most recently in my Jan 24th write up. The financial loses to Dubai are just as bad as those in the US, UK and the world over. The cost of food that has to be imported has sky rocketed. The real estate and property values have fallen by 50%, and it is only a matter of time, before the building construction industry there completely collapses.

Still, let's analyze both their respective comments on this issue. Greer, who called the Burg Dubai, "the needle stuck in the buttock of the Almighty" shows that the outrageous prices for space in the tower has made it an eerie, empty nest. The Amani residences which go for a minimum of 3,500 USD are also equally empty and have aided the the developer, Emaar lose 75% of the tower's total value. So has all this construction been for naught? It might as well have been if hardly anyone lives there especially on the "man made" islands. And these Greer has pointed out as the "crassest of all." Palm Jumeira remains underdeveloped as "the water between the branches is stagnating and algae is forming along the man-made beachfront. How this will affect the dolphins that are shipped from the South Pacific to amuse the guests at the Hotel Atlantis, who pay $75 to swim with them, is any body's guess." So altogether, Germaine Greer does not have much of a high opinion of Dubai and I really can't say that anyone should blame her much.

Now Siobhan Campbell, as a resident of Dubai, is not at all impressed with all the issues outlined by Greer. According to Campbell, only 6% of Dubai's revenue comes from oil so the need to create a tourist industry to supplement the market is not only a necessary thing but a very innovative move which has attracted "investment and tourists: with both of these come jobs." Jobs? Is she really counting the cheap labor of the migrant population of Indians and Philippinos, who can no longer survive on their meager existence and are leaving en mass, as jobs created? Or is she speaking of the expatriates who have also left in fustration? And how many of the actual indigens of Dubai were employed during this time? Not very many if any at all. Still, I do agree with Campbell that Greer really just had a bus tour of the city during a lay-over and can't really sum up the dynamism and culture of the entire area in just four hours.

The issue of Dubai's architecture is probably one of the most controversial of our time with everyone coming in with hotly contested opinions and never really seeing eye-to-eye. But one thing I think that we can all just come out and agree upon is that the building frenzy in Dubai has been a Little over the top and the recent crash in the market has not helped. The focus on large scale mixed use towers has taken precedence over much needed projects such as better infrastructure to address the horrible traffic and sewage problems and this even residents can agree upon. Though done in excess, Dubai has been broken the barrier in forward thinking architectural design but unfortunately, this has come to the detriment of much of their ecosystem. Still, I think I've done enough pieces on Dubai, though I couldn't resist the urge to rant about it once more here. It is what it is so let's leave it alone and move on.



Image obtained from: www.guardian.co.uk
For more information, check: www.guardian.co.uk/world/2009/feb/18/dubai-architecture and www.guardian.co.uk/artanddesign/2009/feb/09/dubai-architecture-greer

Waste2tricity!

This British venture seeks to take carbon based waste, either municipal solid waste (MSW) or waste from business and industry and convert it to clean electricity, reducing the amount of garbage going into landfills and giving U.K electric companies a much needed boost. This is a very important step towards solving many environmental issues plaguing us today as it is also common knowledge that the majority of electricity generation and waste disposal methods currently in widespread use are not very environmentally friendly.

The system involves sorted carbon waste, including plastics, paper, cardboard, food and other plant material, entering a plasma gasification chamber and being turned into syngas by the application of very high temperatures (+6000°C). This process has advantages over incineration, which has not been adopted on a large scale for the conversion of MSW into power because of the low efficiency, fears over emissions and waste from incineration or from existing gasification systems. Compared to incineration systems the Waste2tricity system produces fewer pollutant gases, tar, ash and fly ash and the main by-product, vitrified slag, is inert and can be used as road-building aggregates, with the added benefit of reducing demand for gravel extraction.

Waste2Tricity will develop the process in two stages. In Stage 1 the cleaned syngas will be fed into an internal combustion engine (ICE) generator, with an average generation efficiency of about 30%. In Stage 2, the syngas will be processed and converted to hydrogen and the ICEs will be replaced by new generation alkaline fuel cells, which have the highest conversion efficiency of hydrogen to electricity of any process. By the combination of plasma gasification with fuel cells Waste2tricity claims the net output of electricity to the UK National Grid could increase by over 50% compared to existing technologies and that the new generation fuel cells will increase the net output of electricity by a minimum of 60% over an internal combustion engine generation system or by 130% over a steam turbine system. Waste2Tricity also estimates that the cost of generating electricity can be less than UKP3p (USD$0.04cents) per KWh at today's prices.

This is a very impressive system that will go a long way to improving the environment as facilities could be built directly on landfills thereby utilizing existing roads and saving valuable land. Also, not only will this help reduce landfills and probably the need for them altogether, but the main by-product, inert vitrified slag can be used as a very durable road building aggregate. I am very pleased with the pace at which the British are going in trying to solve environmental problems. I wrote an article last month on CO2 absorbent cement developed by some British scientists and now this "waste2ricity" system is just another reminder to the rest of us in the United States how far we seem to lag when it comes to finding new technologies to clean up the environment and yet we produce most of the world's pollution.

Image obtained from: www.gizmag.com

Gehry's Software Maintains Budget On New Projects

It seems that Frank Gehry has developed an interesting software called, "Digital Project" which he describes as a powerful tool for architects to help keep construction costs down. Though the software is really just getting public attention, it is not entirely new. Gehry first developed digital project in the early 90's and further refined it in 1997 when designing and specifying the titanium panels for the celebrated Guggenheim Museum, Bilbao.

With the crumbling economy now, the spotlight is on Gehry and Digital project as he uses it for his latest design, The new Beekman Tower, a $680 million, 904 unit and 76 storey building in New York set to topout mid 2010 and be a significant contribution to New York city's skyline. With the building’s distinctly bumpy silhouette, “the idea I was trying to achieve was a fabric, so it would catch the light,” Mr. Gehry said. Using the software, fabricators have been able to produced a facade for this tower with various textures at a price that Mr. Gehry says does not exceed what a developer would pay to build a conventional boxy building of similar dimensions.

The main point of this program is to model every component of the building in 3D, and allow engineers and contractors to resolve cost issues and work out how final duct placement will work with the building form before construction commences. According to Gehry, this has helped to avoid expensive work change orders, almost removing the need for architects to include an additional cost for "contingencies" which always come from construction errors helping keep projects within initial budget. Still, many other architects have reacted differently to the program. While acknowledging that the Gehry software is impressive, Carl Galioto of Skidmore, Owings & Merrill, a firm that has designed many skyscrapers, says that it is very hard to learn and three or four times as expensive as a conventional modeling program which on average costs about $5,000.

This may be a good tool to have right now if Mr Gehry would be kind enough to simplify it a bit so that those of us who did not write the program might be able to use it. Still, I don't think that even his "Digital Project" can ensure that Gehry can develop a design that is guaranteed to be weather resistant which is a problem some of his latest projects have had.




Image obtained from: www.archinect.com and www.nytimes.com respectively
For more information, check: www.nytimes.com/2008/05/31/arts/design/31beek.html

No Boundaries Make No Sense In Malaysia

Local architects in Malaysia have proposed the "no fence" concept for the new housing suburbs of Putrajaya, but many of the residents in the city feel that this idea will never work and have sought to actively oppose these plans.

This concept for not incorporating fences to separate residents' properties was originally intended to "foster a friendly neighbourhood spirit and encourage interracial socialising." This is not shared by everyone else who seem to feel that this is being done simply to emulate modern Western housing areas as well as the traditional Malay kampung where there was nary a fence in sight.

Still, there are a few key issues that are being overlooked here by these planners and architects that should underscore just why this will not work. Firstly, the traditional kampung were built at times when accessible roads where not strewn with fast moving vehicles. Indeed, roads that passed by homes where nothing more than paths for animal drawn vehicles. So there was not the concern of children playing in the street and getting run over by cars.

Also, in the days of the old kampung, most of the residents did not own dogs. This ensured that there was never a situation where children were bitten by a neighbor's dog or where one had to complain about some one's dog pooping in their yard. But most importantly, the culture in this part of the world is a very private one. People tend to like to have their own space.

I have been trying to find out specifically who these architects are because I can't understand why all these things did not occur to them before they decided to make such ludicrous concepts public. Are they even Malaysian? Architects should be sure to design for the people and take into consideration, how the intended users will interact with the design and each other. If they want to foster social interaction, then they should try to incorporate a community center or some kind of communal park where residents can go and spend time with their children and neighbors.



Image obtained from: www.thestar.com

Another Koolhaas Design Under Threat

Some members of the Cornell University community have begun a movement to halt the planned construction of Milstein Hall to be designed by Dutch architects, Rem Koolhaas of OMA. which comes just after the final approval for construction to begin. Opponents of the project state that they feel it should be scraped due to an over-extended school budget and the fact that the project will not receive a LEED Gold rating while those supporting the project say that the Koolhaas project is a vital move for the school's success, and that canceling the project could lead to a lack of accreditation.

It should be noted though that the majority of the faculty do feel that the project should continue on schedule and are incensed that their opponents have gone to various media outlets making it seem like all of the Ithaca community are opposed to Koolhaas' proposal. Adrian Lewis, Professor of Operations Research and Information Engineering points out that any delay in starting construction, will be detrimental to the school. He went on to state that NAAB (the national architecture accreditation board) "has warned us for over a decade, and have explicitly stated that the last accreditation we got is the FINAL one they will grant without compliant facilities. They have just denied us an accreditation review for our new M.Arch 1 program this spring because of delays to the final approval process. When they return next year, they plan to review both the M1 and B.Arch programs -- if we don't have a building in process at that point, the B.Arch will LOSE its accreditation, and the M1 will be denied the same."

As can be imagined, losing their accreditation will be catastrophic for Cornell as enrollment will decline and current students would begin to transfer out causing a precipitous decline in tuition obtained and the reputation of the school. These all seem like a lot to lose just because the design will not get a LEED Gold certificate and whatever costs are spent on the building will be worth it since their accreditation depends on it so much. Besides, Koolhaas presented his design to the school two years ago and won their unanimous approval then. So did they just realize that it would not be awarded the LEED Gold?



Image obtained from: www.archinect.com

British Private Gardens a Delight; Their Public Ones A Disgrace

At least that is what Martha Schwartz, a landscape architect and Harvard professor, seems to think. Saying that the British put way to much attention to their private home patches while "public parks are litter-strewn wastelands, about as horticulturally interesting as boxes of paperclips."

Gardening defines many a British household and is indeed a culturally iconic activity and Sarah Gaventa, Director of Cabe Space has lashed back, saying that, "Schwartz’s views are out of touch intellectually." Gaventa has sited the Sheffield Gold Route, which runs across shared space from the Sheffield railway station to the center of the city and helps to orient passengers just coming off the train. Gaventa went on to say, "You come out of the station and know exactly where to go without the need for signs; it guides you into town, past some great public art, and leads you to the Peace Gardens. It was a £20 million investment from a committed local authority. How can she say the British don’t care?"

In a way I understand Martha Schwartz's view point on this matter but I think its irresponsible to call out all of England on the issue of their public gardens when I'm not so sure we are doing any better ourselves in the United States. There aren't many spaces in this country that are easily identifiable as public and not privately owned and fewer still have been landscaped. At least I don't consider concrete and a miserable looking fountain as attractive landscape elements. We could all do better when it comes to greening our parks and creating spaces within the community that foster social interaction and a place for children to play, regardless of the country.



Image obtained from: www.telegraph.co.uk
For more information, check: www.telegraph.co.uk/gardening/4389731/Britains-gardens-A-private-passion-and-a-public-disgrace.html

Koolhaas Blamed For TVCC Blaze

It has been taken as a particularly bad omen for the TVCC building in Beijing to burn down on the Chinese new year holiday and this has sparked some surprising bouts of finger pointing. Though investigations so far have indicated that illegal firecrackers set off by new year revellers was the cause of the fire, public sentiment is that this happened because China has allowed itself to become a testing ground for Western architects.

The TVCC and CCTV buildings were designed by Dutch architect, Rem Koolhaas of OMA as a pair to be the headquarters of the state broadcaster (Central China Television). The latter of the two is definitely the most unique and most easily recognizable as Koolhaas designed it to be, "an alternative to the tyranny of the skyscraper." Instead of soaring straight up into the sky, the building bends in on itself, describing a giant square in the sky with a continuous loop of TV studios, offices, and other facilities that reconfigures the typical top-to-bottom relationships of the traditional office building. Due to its shape, the scale of this building is often underestimated making it look squat though it stands at a soaring 54 storeys. The TVCC building in comparison is a relatively simple arrangement of boxes containing a hotel and a performance theatre, all wrapped in an angular cloak of metal at 34 storeys.

Inexplicably, rather than blame the firecracker throwing revellers, lax construction of the building is being pandered around as one the reasons why the building burned. I am not sure why this is Koolhaas' fault as every since the Sichuan earthquake, China has been blamed for sub par construction standards regardless of design specifications. Also, unless Koolhaas or other members of the office for metropolitan architecture were caught on camera throwing firecrackers themselves, he really shouldn't be blamed for the fire. The Chinese government knew that Koolhaas was a "Western architect" when he was selected for the project so what does it matter now?



Image obtained from: www.guardian.co.uk/artanddesign/2009/feb/10/beijing-fire-architect-cctv

Design For 46 Story Harmon Hotel Cut Down To Half

The Harmon hotel, CityCenter’s gateway to the Las Vegas Strip, has suddenly been cut down to about half its intended size. Topping out at 28 stories instead of the proposed 49, the incredible shrinking Harmon seems unfortunately fated to look like a stubby, squashed stepchild next to its soaring CityCenter siblings, the 61-story Aria Resort & Casino and the 57-story Vdara condo-hotel.

That is the result of construction flaws — 15 floors of wrongly installed rebar — that forced MGM Mirage, which is developing the project with Dubai World, to rapidly call for a significant reduction of the non gaming boutique hotel. MGM Mirage canceled the Harmon’s 207-unit condominium component — the top half of the building — and postponed the opening of the hotel to late 2010.

With its elegantly elliptical curve and signature variegated blue-and-white exterior suggesting sea glass, the Harmon was expressly designed by British superstar architect Lord Norman Foster to be one of the newly defining iconic buildings in this young, aspiring city. It was designed to harmonize in scale and detail with the other elements of the complex.

This is very unfortunate for Foster who's list of "world's first" will also include this now stumpy tower. This also does not portray a very good image of Las Vegas as many designers will now start to shy away from the city so as not to have their designs bastardized as Foster has had his.



Details obtained from Joe Brown's "Adaptation or Disaster?
Image obtained from: www.lasvegassun.com

Chiofaro Seeks To Invigorate Boston Waterfront

Developer Don Chiofaro is proposing a three-tower structure on the site of the Harbor Garage, which he owns. It's a key location in Boston, between the New England Aquarium on one side and the center of the new Greenway on the other.

William Pedersen of Kohn Pedersen Fox in New York, is the chief designer and in the current version of his conceptual design, there are two occupied towers. One holds 200-300 hotel rooms, topped by maybe 120 condos. The other tower contains 850,000 square feet of office space while it is still unclear what the program of the third tower is to be. "It's pure architecture, pure sculpture," says Chiofaro. "I want to make the buildings feel like a gateway from the harbor to the Greenway," reinforcing the sentiment in the city that Chiofaro really just wants the third tower to ensure that he owns the tallest building in Boston.

Responsible for the lower floors of the entire complex are Boston based architects Elkus Manfredi. The lower floors will house a shopping arcade, another 70,000 square feet with underground parking for 1,200 to 1,400 cars, meaning that the Harbor Garage is to be demolished.

Although Chiofaro reiterated several times that this mixed use project will revitalize the now dead Greenway by means of the shops and hotel, the plans have been received with very little enthusiasm of which I too share. As it is, the "greenway" has little green about it and another highrise casting yet another shadow is going to jeopardize what green is left. Also, the wind tunnel effect created will make connecting corridors very uncomfortable.
I am usually always in support of new building plans and ideas to help the stagnated economy but in this case, it looks like Chiofaro just wants to create a building that will earn him back some or all of his money lost when he overpaid for the harbor garage.


Image obtained from: www.boston.com.

Mumbia's Poor Reject Tower Blocks

Piles of garbage, homes so dense in their proximity to each other they practically block natural light, and open sewer drains is a sight common on the streets of Dharavi in Mumbai, India and makes up Asia's largest slum.

To address these poor living conditions, private sector redevelopment plans have been created for Dharavi. These plans which call for replacing the shanty homes with block towers have met with resistance from the Dharavi Bachao Andolan coalition, formed by leaders within this slum community advocating to have more chawls rather than towers. The "chawl" is more of a traditional style design that sets a few single level units around a central courtyard where residents may interact and work on their stitching, processing or weaving.

These are the benefits that the chawl brings that will now be lost if towers are built in the community argues the coalition but the Indian government counters that the local problem is one of space as a successful chawl community requires sprawl whereas building vertically maximizes space so more of the inhabitants can be housed. Ultimately, the government and private sector developers really just want to reclaim the vast swathe of the city currently taken up by the 60% of Mumbaikars living in slums regardless of the potentially adverse effects on the residents.

Hence, this redevelopment plan for Dharavi has not been thoroughly thought through as they fail to see that packing people into towers does not make for community revitalization. Most of the first ghettos in the United States were towers where people where jammed into squalid conditions and India may be doing nothing more but trading one kind of slum for another. I think it would be smarter if the shortsighted vision of simply reclaiming land is not the one goal to be focused on here but also a way to improve the quality of life of the Mumbai poor.


Image obtained from: www.guardian.co.uk

Nigerian Government Signs $16 Billion Infrastructure Investment Contract With UAE

Abuja — The Federal Government yesterday signed a $16 billion investment bilateral agreement with the United Arab Emirates (Dubai) to improve basic infrastructural facilities in the country.

Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Michael Kaase Aondoakaa (SAN), who signed the bilateral cooperation agreement on behalf of the Federal Government, said the country stood to benefit a lot from the partnership, adding that Dubai has vast experience in technology and sound management of investment portfolios.

He said Dubai World Corporation, owned 100 per cent by the Dubai government, would be directly involved with the provision of the basic infrastructure thereby complementing the government budget targeted at the real sector of the economy.

The agreement covers areas such as dams, electricity, agriculture, mineral resources and the development of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), among others.

Speaking further, the Justice Minister said the Nigerian Ambassador to the UAE, Alhaji Bashiru Yuguda, and President Umaru Musa Yar' Adua had demonstrated their commitment to the development of the critical sectors of the economy including the Niger Delta area where some of the investment would be made to impact positively on the lives of the dwellers in the region.

Also speaking at the occasion, the FCT Minister, Senator Adamu Aliero, said the ministry would shift from the old order of providing infrastructure without recouping the money to address similar problems in other areas of the territory.

According to him, henceforth, government would provide amenities like roads, electricity and water and recover the expense and use the money to solve the problems in other areas, adding that by so doing, development would go round.

The Dubai government was represented by a team led by Sultan Ahmed Ibn Sulayin who said, "Our focus will be in Nigeria. The Bilateral agreement will be with the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC).

On the global financial crisis, Sulayin said, "The world have always overcome and passed through financial crisis and this will not be different. Even within the crisis period, we see opportunity to make things happen for the people of the world. It is good to have experience. Those who have experience will survive it and those who do not have experience and are weak will disappear.

"The crash in world financial market was being experienced since 1987 and many economies have experienced it and became stronger afterwards."

Earlier, President Yar'Adua had told the Dubai delegation that Nigeria's laws and regulations had made the country the best investment destination in the world.

"We have the necessary legislations and regulations that provide a very conducive environment for investors. Our laws permit repatriation of 100 per cent profit. I doubt if there is a better country for investment today," he said.

He spoke of his confidence in the Dubai World Corporation, saying it had left a global mark of investment success.

He, therefore, said the cooperation would equally record success with Nigeria.

By Funso Muraina

The Dream of Transformative Infrastructure Projects May Be Slipping Away

Most of us in the building construction industry have been waiting expectantly since President Barack Obama declared that he aspired to a building plan as ambitious as any the country has ever known—or at least that is what we believe we heard.

As spending on infrastructure seems to continually get smaller as the weeks go by, there might not be much left to really be the adrenaline shot to the industry that most of us were hoping for. The $825 billion seems to be concentrated towards being delivered fast to what the administration sees as the number one problem: joblessness. Even fast-track architecture is not seen as being able to operate at a quick enough speed to significantly alleviate the current situation. The AIA and advocacy groups like America 2050 are warning that the money must not be spent all at once, but rather in phases that allow for strategic planning, job training, construction, and engineering evaluations.

These warnings and perhaps pleas seem to be falling on deaf ears as the portion for infrastructure in the stimulus package hasn't increased. Still, some air of optimism persists as we continue to hold on to the lists of 10,000 schools to be updated, 90 ports to be secured, 75 percent of federal buildings to be weatherized, and 1,300 waste-water projects to be built and $100 billion investment in clean energy projects for the private sector.

Maybe I didn't pay enough attention in my Economics classes back in college but I would assume that projects that over time generated more jobs would be a much sought after thing and I think that is what a strong building and infrastructure plan would do. I think that would be much more beneficial in the long run than tax cuts but then maybe I'm just too eager for more projects.


Image obtained from : www.zimbio.com/pictures

Controversy Over Bush Presidential Library Continues

The concerns about the site of the Bush library and museum have raged on from early last year and are beginning to reach a feverish pitch in Texas making the apparent homecoming for bush not as welcoming as one would have expected. First, historians and archivists complained about censorship. Next, professors and scholars objected. Now, pastors and church leaders have joined the protest against Bush's presidential library. Southern Methodist University (SMU) is slated to host the George W. Bush Presidential Library on its campus in Dallas, Texas. SMU's leaders are warmly welcoming Bush's library. The Bush library foundation has formally approved SMU as the location.

But all is not well. The United Methodist Church's (UMC) Quadrennial General Conference is the UMC governing body. Earlier this month, that governing body voted overwhelmingly - 844 to 20 - to refer a petition to its South Central Jurisdiction, urging it to reject Bush's presidential library, preventing it from being housed at SMU. Signed by 844 Methodist leaders.

Church leaders say that Bush's library does not belong at SMU because the UMC should support instead a separation of church and state. Some leaders have explained that if the Bush library goes on the SMU campus, it could appear to the country and the world that the UMC endorses George Bush and his policies.

Bush is attempting to raise $500 million for the project and has hired Michael Van Valkenburgh, principal of a New York- and Cambridge-based design firm to be the lead architect for the library. Van Valkenburgh, a professor at Harvard University's graduate school of design, has won numerous awards for his work, which also includes a number of urban parks, such as the Brooklyn Bridge Park.



By Lucy Belnora.
Image obtained from: images.google.com
For more information, check: www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/news/localnews/stories/012909dnmetbushlandscape.3575145.html

Ghana's Aimless Sprawl

As developing countries around the world continue to strive towards bridging the gap between them and the rest of the western world (in terms of infrastructure and technological development) some key elements always seem to be left out.

For example, in Accra, Ghana's capital the concern is that the need for sprawl and city development has not included basic amenities such as running water and constant electricity. The Osu Re area is already highly congested in terms of both vehicular and pedestrian traffic, nothing is being done to address this issue but more shopping complexes are being squeezed in to try to turn more profit for every square inch of land. There is no concern shown for the fact that not only is this going to increase the traffic in Osu Re but also, no provisions have been made to ensure that there is adequate running water and electricity (lets not even mention phone lines or Internet).

Ghana is one of the most highly educated countries within West Africa and boasts many distinguished architects and city planners so why can't they get it right? This is how cities turn to squalor and government officials dare to wonder what went wrong. We all know that before any buildings are planned, basic amenities like roads, water and electricity are squared away so why can't they do that first. I don't think the government in Ghana really cares all that much for what the city looks like or how the citizens live day to day. President John Evans Atta Mills, will soon have Ghana join Zimbabwe on the shortlist for the so called Universal World House.


For more information, check: www.news.myjoyonline.com/features/200902/25816.asp

The "Absolute Towers" of Canada

Yes, that is actually what they are called and are a five tower development on the north-east corner of the crossroads of Hurontario Street and Burnhamthope Road, a gateway to the Mississauga town center in Canada. After the success of the first tower, developers announced that a fifth and final tower over 50 stories will be added to complete the project. The total area of the site is about 255,000 square feet while the total square footage of the Absolute Towers 1 and 2 are about 135,000 and 120,000 square feet respectively.

Both towers, designed by M.A.D Architects Studio have been designed with very organic convolutions that seek to not only break with the form of traditional highrises, but also relate to each other. Ma Yansong, one of the principles said of the designs, "they talk to each other and harmonize with each other. There is a synergy between them, an aura which transcends each of the individual buildings."

Also of ultimate importance in the design is the effort made to ensure that all occupants within the building have a a view. The entire 56-story building rotates by different degrees at different levels, which corresponds with scenarios at different heights. A continuous balcony surrounds the building giving adequate sunlight and ventilation.

I would say that this is a very unique design but it does really remind me of Zaha's design for the Farrer Road residential complex in Singapore. I'm all for inspiration but not when it bears a strong resemblance to its predecessor.



Image obtained from: www.arcspace.com
For more info, check: www.archinnovations.com/featured-projects/mixed-use/mad-the-absolute-towers-in-mississauga