'Slow' Larnaca

MA A+U student Thisvi Christou has completed her thesis project entitled "‘Slow' Larnaca: a future development based on the history of the town." Thisvi writes

"The aim of the ‘Slow Larnaca’ urban design project is to improve Larnaca’s economy, to reduce the level of unemployment and to increase tourist traffic in the town by protecting Larnaca’s special character and its peoples’ lifestyle. Larnaca is a historic Mediterranean town that played a major role in the island's history through different historic periods, because of its location, natural resources and intense trading activity. The history and architecture of Larnaca were points of reference and were used as a base for the ‘Slow Larnaca’ urban concept.

The project title refers to the ‘Slow City’ and ‘Slow Tourism’ concepts, which are branches of the ‘Slow Food’ movement. The ‘Slow City’ theory works as a guideline for a new urban development in Larnaca, where locals and temporary visitors participate in production and consumption activities. The key area of the 'Slow' urban development is the former Refinery area of Larnaca which is abandoned and a new design for this area is proposed. Furthermore, the former Refinery of Larnaca is located between the town centre and the tourist area of Larnaca, which is a significant point of the town. Larnaca, through this new urban development may potentially enhance its economy and improve the prospects of its people."

Renovation of Teahouse Block, Changsha

MA A+U student Honghao Zeng has studied the regeneration of a district of Changsha for his master's thesis. He writes

'In this period of large scale and rapid construction, architects as well as all citizens should participate in the tough task of protection of the ancient city, to leave a bit more historical space, more hisorical life, culture and heritage to the next generation. Taking Teahouse Block in Changsha as the research object, and after the analysis of the specific situation, the master plan for the district suggests that it be renovated as an open air museum, a sequence of cultural exhibition streets presenting significant local themes. It is recommended that tea culture be displayed here throughout the whole block, including the street facades, reconstructed buildings, retained buildings and the design of public space.'

Space and Memory in Post-war Aleppo

MA A+U student Meisoon Jumah has recently completed her thesis project 'Space and Memory in Post-war Aleppo' which develops a strategy for the eventual reconstruction of the city when the current war in Syria ends. Meisoon writes

'War and the city have shaped each other throughout urban and military history; in this project I will look at the effects of the war in Aleppo on the area South of Aleppo’s Citadel and propose a rebuilding idea by looking back at the memory of that space throughout many different ages. Aleppo has suffered a lot of difficult times and was the subject of many historic and natural disasters, yet it was able to recover and flourish every time. Such an ancient city should be able to raise again once the conflict is over. Finding an immediate strategy like the remote mapping of the destruction and the safeguarding of heritage by the many organisations involved as well as an early planning of a postwar strategy will help make a great difference for Aleppo. In this project I tried to propose an idea for change in a small part of the Old City, an idea that is not enough to rebuild Aleppo but at least is one step closer towards a very long rebuilding process.
My design proposal for the area South of the Citadel will include a proposal for each of the seven main buildings on the site as well as the redesign of the public areas between them.'

Where are they now? Minding the little one ...

2013 MA A+U graduate Gu Fang (Felix to his Manchester friends) has sent news of the birth of his beautiful daughter Vela.

Felix is working in Shenzhen for Tsinghua-Yuan Architectural Design Ltd.

Architecture + Urbanism recommends 'The School of Constructed Realities'

DUNNE & RABY: THE SCHOOL OF CONSTRUCTED REALITIES

FRI, 12.06.2015–SUN, 04.10.2015

GEYMÜLLERSCHLÖSSEL
A collateral project of the Vienna Biennale 2015


As a collateral project of the VIENNA BIENNALE 2015: IDEAS FOR CHANGE, the British designer duo Dunne & Raby have been invited this year to present an intervention in the uniquely furnished study interior from the Empire and Biedermeier era. For many years, Anthony Dunne, Professor and Head of the Design Interactions Department at the Royal College of Art in London, and Fiona Raby, Professor of Industrial Design at the University of Applied Arts Vienna, have been considered spearheads of a conceptual and critical design movement that makes speculations about alternative ways of life. They mainly work with research and educational institutions such as museums to contemplate the implementation of new technologies and their impact. With their most recent publication Speculative Everything: Design, Fiction, and Social Dreaming (2013), they propagate an approach that uses
design to illustrate and make negotiable plausible scenarios— rather than to simply visualize images of the future.

With 'The School of Constructed Realities'—the title references a short story by Dunne & Raby for the textile company Maharam—, the designers make use of the Geymüllerschlössel as a meeting place for the founders of a fictitious school that both researches and teaches unreality. The gathering could take place in the past, present, or future. In several workshop scenarios, works by the studio are treated as case studies, such as United Micro Kingdoms (2012/13), a speculation about the continued existence of the United Kingdom, and Not Here, Not Now (2014), a series of interface objects from an alternative society. In their analysis of fiction and reality, they explore among other things the Theory of Objects by the Austrian philosopher and psychologist Alexius Meinong (1853–1920), which is hardly known today.

In regard to the motto of the first VIENNA BIENNALE their speculative schooling is an invitation to contemplate the future, change, and the role of design