On Proposed Manhattan Mosque and Islamic Community Center

By Orhan Ayyüce
Article originally published for this discussion thread in Archnect.com and re-published here with the author's permission.

I am not a practicing Muslim. Perhaps, then, not a muslim at all. Growing up in a secular but, nevertheless, un-officially and majority muslim country, I have been exposed to Islam, learned about its traditions, customs, and, as an architect, developed great appreciation for the design of its places of worship.

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Here-Say: State of Design Re-Cap

(photo by Tobias Titz)

We partnered with the Department of Counter Culture to bring you 'Here-Say': a speakers forum during the State of Design Festival in July. In case you missed out, video footage of the program will be available on the website soon, but in the meantime, we've got the following summary of the week for you, a smorgasbord of inspiring contributions from practitioners addressing socially and environmentally conscious design in various ways.

Professor Kim Humphrey officially opened the program by speaking of extreme consumerism and how the fashion industry has the opportunity (and a responsibility) to counteract the habit of consumers to buy and discard possessions haphazardly, with little consideration of the sacrifices made by people involved in making the product or for the natural environment – and all for the sake of appearing “fashionable”.

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Pakistan: more than 20 million people have been made homeless

A man looks out over traffic as residents return to flood-affected areas in Nowshera Photograph: Daniel Berehulak/Getty Images: http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/gallery/2010/aug/01/pakistan

Imagine the entire population of Australia being affected by a natural disaster.

Pakistan is experiencing the worst floods in living memory, and the crisis is deepening as torrential rains continue to fall across the country. An estimated 20 million people have been affected – more than the Indian Ocean tsunami, the Kashmir earthquake and the Haiti earthquake combined. The threat of disease is high.

Please give generously. You can do it on line and all it takes is 2 minutes, your credit card and your shared humanity.

Please donate now at unicef.org.au or call them on either 1300 884 233 or 1300 134 071.

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Nyanza Hospital: appreciative inquiry design in Africa

Following Dr. Ashraf Salama’s last editorial on Appreciative Inquiry and its impact on environment and performance, I wondered about the outcome of this approach if applied in developing countries instead of industrialized ones –all cases cited in Dr. Salama’s editorial occur in the US, where people are more exposed to participatory systems. How different is it in other less participatory or developed parts of the world?

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Competir o Planificar

Articulo publicado en La Яevuelta, 23 Agosto 2010 (republicado con permiso del autor).

Por: Arq. Marcos Barinas

La agresiva política exterior que ha llevado el Estado Dominicano en la última década, al abandonar el tradicional “mirar hacia adentro” por “mirar hacia fuera”, ha importado no solo los beneficios que se corresponden a la marcada orientación hacia las economías mundo, también ha generado interrogantes acerca del futuro de la planificación territorial y urbana.

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"Minimizing car travel by changing how we think about development"

Is this really possible? "Minimizing car travel by changing how we think about development." A recent study, referred to as a "meta-analysis" by his author, claims that,

"If you’re trying to minimize vehicle miles traveled and maximize walking and transit, you’re better off emphasizing mixed-use and destination accessibility than just bumping up density. A dense development in the suburbs, far from transit and employment centers and stores, is probably not going to buy you much in the way of walking and transit use. Almost any development in the central city is going to be more efficient from a transportation standpoint." 

According to the study, augmenting density comes second in regards to effectiveness as compared to the above finding, yet, increasing density is the solution most often promoted.

What do you think of these assertions? Are there counter-arguments that also look at the "meta" picture?

Find the original article at SmartPlanet: here

(With thanks to Prof. Louis Sauer for sending this link to us.)

 

Hiroshima

Un día como hoy, 6 de Agosto de 1945, a las 8.15am, Little Boy cayó sobre Hiroshima. Ochenta mil personas murieron y antes del final del año la cuenta llegó hasta 140,000. El 69% de los edificios fue destruido y un 7% afectado gravemente. Tanto daño con el único objetivo de una rendición rápida e incondicional de Japón a los Estados Unidos. Hoy estuve viendo por televisión el evento conmemorativo anual. Este año fue el primero en el que participa un embajador de los Estados Unidos.

No obstante, Hiroshima fue reconstruida después de la guerra mediante una ley que la convertiría en Ciudad de la Paz, en 1949. Esta ley financiaría la reconstrucción y donaría tierra del estado o de uso militar, y le daría atención internacional para albergar conferencias sobre la paz y otros temas sociales, dándole cierta esperanza a una ciudad devastada y aún crujiente.

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