India’s Daughter: for the right to walk free and without fear

Image source: NDTV India News

There cannot be social justice, solidarity, respect or peace when women, who represent more than half of the world's population, are exposed to violence.

Women in many countries are not granted the same rights as their male counterpart. In many countries too, women have no right or access to education. Furthermore, in too many countries women suffer or are exposed to discrimination, abuse, brutal beating, rape and murder.


BBC Delhi Nirbhaya Documentary full BBC India's Daughter HD from AwaitNews on Vimeo.

Many, if not most of the Architects for Peace committee and members are women and we would like the freedom that many of us enjoy to be extended to every woman.

We were pleased to learn that a documentary entitled India’s Daughter was produced by the BBC, a documentary aiming to inform and sensitize society about the situation that women face in India. Such a documentary has the power not only to inform, but also to educate society, so violence against women could become unacceptable and something of the past. However, India’s Daughter has been banned in India, a censorship decision that is both shameful and inexcusable. Unfortunately, in a move that is no better than that of the Indian government itself, "the BBC has launched a much more severe, global ban—the broadcaster has asked Google to remove all copies of the documentary, viewable anywhere in the world, from YouTube, citing copyright infringement."

Architects for Peace stands for the right of all women to be treated equally in their community. We stand for the right of all women to be respected and to contribute to her society in a manner that she sees fitting, and for women everywhere to enjoy their “right to the city”—walking free and without fear.

To commemorate Women’s day this year, we wanted to share with all of you (women and men) the BBC's banned documentary India’s Daughter.

If you have watched the documentary and feel disgusted by the comments of defence lawyers, we would encourage you to sign a petition aiming to "Initiate investigation and take appropriate action against Nirbhaya defence lawyers."

La revancha de los cités: dos planes revivirán a estas históricas viviendas

This article was first published by El Definido on 24.02.2015 and republished here with the permission of its author Magdalena Araus, Chile.

Imagen: © Iván Theoduloz / Arquibus

Restauraciones, renovación y nuevas construcciones que los imitan son las maneras de revivir a los cités en Santiago. Estas primeras viviendas sociales cada vez son más valoradas, tienen muchos beneficios que ofrecer y no están dispuestas a morir.

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Another tragedy: flames engulf Palacio Aldunate in Santiago, Chile

In Santiago de Chile another of its architectural jewels was recently burnt beyond repair. The destruction of the Aldunate Palace through a fire apparently caused by an electrical malfunction follows the recent fate of several other historic buildings. It points to a problem with the regulation and enforceable maintenance that is essential to the preservation of so much heritage architecture in this city of nearly 500 years. Santiago is undergoing a renaissance and the speed and scale of urban development posit the urgent need for tougher punishment for neglect or acts that threaten and damage its immense wealth of built heritage.

The Aldunate Palace (Palacio Aldunate) in Santiago de Chile is an urban landmark that symbolised the breadth and depth of the 19th century vision for the city in Benjamín Vicuña MacKenna´s 1870 plan of urban redevelopment. This was notably inaugurated with the opening of the Parque Cousiño. The beauty and splendour of much of the architecture of the time is matched by the insistence on public spaces as essential to the idea of the city and to its present day reality and sensibility.

The destruction of Palacio Aldunate highlights the tensions and the unresolved question about commercial interests, the common good and the city.

The following article in Spanish was originally published at Brugmann and deals with the history of the Aldunate Palace and the issues that its recent destruction through fire raise in the urban debate for Santiago de Chile.

Una tragedia más: las llamas devoraron el Palacio Aldunate
(article re-published with the author's consent. Find the original article here)

TREPAMOS A LO MÁS ALTO DE SU CÚPULA PARA OBSERVAR TODA LA CIUDAD, Y RECORRIENDO SU INTERIOR NOS MARAVILLAMOS CON LA DESLUMBRANTE ORNAMENTACIÓN DE LOS ESPACIOS, QUE A PESAR DEL EVIDENTE ABANDONO SEGUÍAN CONSERVANDO ESE LUJO EXQUISITO DE LA ÉPOCA ECLÉCTICA DE LA ARQUITECTURA NACIONAL.  JAMÁS IMAGINAMOS EN ESE ENTONCES QUE HOY ESTARÍAMOS ESCRIBIENDO ESTE PEQUEÑO HOMENAJE PÓSTUMO, PUES UN INCENDIO ACABA DE DESTRUIR NUESTRO PALACIO ALDUNATE EN LA ALAMEDA ESQUINA EJÉRCITO LIBERTADOR, SEPULTANDO PARA SIEMPRE ENTRE SUS ESCOMBROS UNO DE LOS ÚLTIMOS VESTIGIOS DEL SIGLO XIX CHILENO.

HACE POCO TIEMPO ATRÁS TUVIMOS LA SUERTE DE ENTRAR A UNA DE LAS CONSTRUCCIONES MÁS EMBLEMÁTICAS Y A LA VEZ DESCONOCIDAS DEL CENTRO DE SANTIAGO.

F Compañia de Bomberos España

El año 2013 parece ser una seguidilla de desafortunadas pérdidas patrimoniales: hace unos meses nos lamentábamos por la demolición indiscriminada de un representativo edificio en la calle Compañía, obra de José Forteza; y del posible derribo de otro en la calle Morandé. En la capital de Chiloé, el cuestionado mall sigue construyéndose y en Puerto Varas, la Iglesia del Sagrado Corazón desapareció visualmente tras los muros de un  nuevo centro comercial.

Los incendios- fortuitos o no- han hecho su parte, derribando las obras de restauración de la Iglesia de San Francisco de Valparaíso, o destruyendo históricos inmuebles en el barrio Yungay y Franklin, en las calles Carrera, Matucana y la Alameda, donde el fuego arrasó hace poco la gótica mansión Torres, el palacio Iñiguez, (más información en:  http://brugmannrestauradores.blogspot.com/2013/04/incendio-en-el-palacio-iniguez.html) y hoy el palacio Aldunate. ¿Qué sabemos de ese último inmueble?, muy poco, pues recién acabábamos de comenzar nuestras investigaciones para poder rescatar su memoria.

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Los muros de la vergüenza: la destrucción del mural de Thierry Noir en el Barrio Lastarria

Walls of shame: the destruction of the murals of Thierry Noir in Lastarria' precinct (Santiago, Chile)

Nota: Este artículo fue originalmente publicado en FAU Opina y ha sido re-publicado aquí con el permiso de su autor, Rodrigo Vera Manríquez.

La obra de Thierry Noir en Santiago ha desaparecido. Mejor dicho, ha sido destruida -probablemente- por intereses inmobiliarios que solo vieron en el muro caras alargadas de colores sobre un fondo azul.

De todas maneras, poco importaba si quienes cometieron tamaña destrucción del patrimonio visual público de Santiago, hubiesen sabido lo que se demolía.

Un muro. ¿A quién le podría importar tanto un muro? ¿Qué trascendencia podría llegar a tener una muralla pintada con caras alargadas de colores?

Mucha, más de la que podemos imaginar. Y aunque de manera tardía, cuando ya no hay nada más que hacer, porque su destrucción fue total, vale la pena señalar una o dos ideas sobre quién es este Thierry Noir, su importancia mundial en el graffiti, y lo que significa perder esa obra que estaba enclava en el corazón del Barrio Lastarria.

Atendiendo al contexto general, esto parte mucho más atrás del inicio de Thierry Noir en el street art. Tiene que ver con el más famoso muro de occidente, el que no necesita presentaciones. Ese que separó las dos alemanias durante casi tres décadas.

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Taste Paradaise: Cultural Landscape Association of Iran

Workshop and tour offered by the Cultural Landscape Association of Iran (05-04-2013).

Iran, a vast ancient land which has been a place of residency for more than 10000 years, treasures a wide range of cultural and natural landscapes. In the meantime, Persian garden, one of the most beautiful displays of “man and nature in harmony” is a worldwide known style.The proper implementation of geometry and water and plant has made a divine space which has been called “paradise” in various scripts due to the tranquility and serenity it offers.

Iranian gardens spread all around Iran but are more developed and thriving in some areas like “Shiraz” and “Isfahan” with so many amazing gardens. These Iranian gardens have been built on different eras and so present a striking diversity considering their time of birth and size and location.

CONTACT INFORMATION
Cultural Landscape Association

Email: info@classociation.org
Phone: +98 93 5338 6943
Fax: +98 21 7753 7691
Address: Unit 14, No.15, South Sohrevardi St., Tehran, IRAN

Find more here

A public university, for the public, in a public square

A public university celebrates its 170th year anniversary, with the public, in the public square

"What a beautiful thing it is, that for the 170th aniversary of a public university, to take place in a public square and to be dedicated to its public, to all chileans who are and own this university." Prof. Víctor L. Pérez Vera, Vice-Chancellor, Universidad de Chile. (Santiago, November 17, 2012)

Image source: uchile.online

Consistent with the values of the University of Chile (a public university), the commemoration of its 170 years were celebrated with a concert by the University of Chile's Symphonic Orchestra and Symphonic Choir in the public square, the Plaza de Armas. Values that have been continuously and traditionally held by the university, such as equity, quality education, public education, democracy and inclusion were stressed in the opening speech of the event.

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Post from Santiago Chile

Santiago Diary

22 November 2012

I’ve been in Santiago, Chile for a little under two weeks now and have not stopped. It is intoxicating.

Last night we went on the second of the bicycle rides organized in as many weeks by Bicipaseao Partrimoniales facebook.com/bicipaseospatrimoniales. We started at 8.00 pm and didn't bet home until after 1.00 pm. The tour visited four museums that were open to the public until midnight! At each we had a speaker and in between we cycled across Santiago through the lanes and streets, shutting down traffic wherever we crossed a road as there were about 150 of us on bikes - all ages, some kids, some dogs, some bicycles with little trailers with kids in them. The museums we visited were impressive not only for the architecture but the content and the formation of the institutions themselves.

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Instigating Change with Common Ground

By John Southern

This article was originally published on Archinect and has been re-published with the consent of its author.

In the age where cultural production has usurped industrial production as the driver for Western economies, the Venice Architecture Biennale represents a special kind of affair. This three month-long bonanza of architecture and urban design represents a collection of diverse principles produced under a unified curatorial umbrella. Despite the trash-talk that has proliferated in certain circles since the opening of the event in late August, this year’s Biennale doesn’t have much to be cynical, negative, or nasty about.

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Cool people

One thousand ice figures
(Mil figuras de hielo)
An installation by artist Nélle Azevedo

This exhibition/installation was displayed today (22.08.12) at the Faculty of Law (Facultad de Derecho), University of Chile in Santiago. The work symbolising global warming, marks the inauguration of the VI Jornadas de Derecho Ambiental (VI Environmental Rights Conference) and has been exhibited already in France, Italy, Portugal, Cuba, Germany and Japan.

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SOCIAL DISTINCTION AND RESIDENTIAL HABITAT IN LATIN AMERICA

Author: Sonia Roitman
Source: Revista INVI

Abstract


The increase of urban insecurity and the fear of crime have triggered the development of gated communities in Latin American cities. This residential model has even attempted to extend its target not only to upper-middle and high socioeconomic groups, but also to lowermiddle and low income groups. However, this paper shows how living in gated communities is still related to social distinction and status. This article analyses the main characteristics of gated communities, who their residents are, their daily activities and interests as well as their relation with the city. It is concluded that gated communities are an important element of social distinction and belonging for some
social groups.

KEYWORDS: GATED COMMUNITIES, SOCIAL DISTINCTION AND RESIDENTIAL HABITAT.

Find this article: Revista INVI

Wide Open Road: how did Australia plan pedestrians, cyclists and transit out of its cities?

Author: Peter Newman

Professor of Sustainability at Curtin University

Before the motorcar “owned” the road, cyclists weren’t seen as space-taking nuisance.

The ABC documentary Wide Open Road is a totally fascinating history of the car in Australia.

The characters who pioneered the car in the Australian bush 100 years ago are remarkable. The images of Australian cities as the first cars arrived on the scene are wonderful, with their carts and trams winding through huge flows of pedestrians and cyclists.

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Guerrilla street cleaners

Guerrilla – a person who engages in irregular warfare especially as a member of an independent unit carrying out harassment and sabotage [1]

First there was guerrilla gardening, now we have guerrilla street cleaning! When did society feel the need to organize as specialized covert independent units to carry out harassment and sabotage on civil servants everywhere? What will we have next, guerrilla financial planners?

http://www.theuglyindian.com/

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Aga Khan Trust for Culture, Media and Publications

The Aga Khan Development Network (AKDN) has just released the Aga Khan Trust for Culture, Media and Publications. This is a comprehensive list of books, monographs and publications covering the topics of culture, architecture, cities, music and museums and exhibitions and reflecting the needs and aspirations of Muslim societies. Each topic is introduced with an explanatory note.

Image source: the Aga Khan Trust for Culture, Media and Publications. Click on image to access the publication.

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Why did the Mullah cross the road?

When I say Muslim what’s the first thing that comes to your mind? Would fun, cheek or even humour come in your top ten? Some of the satire used thus far has resulted in tensions within the Muslim community often leading to retribution. Could this have something to do with what Ayatollah Khomeini once said ‘there are no jokes in Islam.’ However it is the perception that people of an Islamic faith do not have a sense of humour that causes harm. In a multi-cultural society it is this perception that extends an already marginalised community and makes them an easier target. The unfortunate reality of the situation is that Islam has had a rich history of humour. Unlike Christian texts, Turkish literature featured a Sufi sage by the name of Mullah Nasreddin who was notorious for his wit; even the prophet Muhammad was known to make the occasional joke.  The Hidah recalls ‘Why are there no old women in heaven? Because they become young girls when they get there!’ But yet this problem of all Muslims being fundamentalists persists.

2010 Public art project at North Yarra Community Health Centre[1].

Minority Rights Group International in their 2010 report states that the ‘rise of religious nationalism, the economic marginalization of religious minorities and the abuse of counter-terrorism laws have all led to a growing pattern of persecution against religious minorities globally. Minorities, particularly Muslims, across the USA and Europe, have been targets of increased state controls as well as nationalist campaigns by right-wing groups. In Switzerland, following a campaign by the ultra-conservative Swiss People's Party, a majority of participating voters backed a referendum, which proposed a ban on the building of new minarets in mosques.[3]’

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Episode 3 at FatinHistorico.org

On this episode, we look at Gua Tujuh caves. Gua Tujuh bore witness to the Japanese invasion of East Timor and served as a background for the 1975 skirmish between East Timorese pro autonomy and pro independent factions.

For photos and essay, check out fatinhistorico.org.

Architects for Peace partners with Fatin Historico

Fatin Historico iha Timor Lorosae

Fatin Historico is a youth led and initiated project with a focus on documenting historical places and architecture of East Timor. We try to cover places that are historically significant including traditional, Portuguese, Chinese, Japanese and Indonesian architecture, and other significant (non-architecture) places. This project strongly involves the participation of Timorese youth in the production of materials.

We are very pleased to have partnered with Architects for Peace as we are expanding our scope and engagement, and we hope that we can learn from and share with the organisation and the network!

If you would like to be involved, please contact fatin.historico@gmail.com or afp@architectsforpeace.org.

Parque Cultural Valparaíso a tres meses del estreno: Obra, Cultura y Gestión pública

Note by Architects for Peace: This article was originally published at Plataforma Patrimonio and it has been re-published with the consent of its author Alberto Texido. The article, entitled Cultural Park Valparaiso (Chile), discusses the conversion of a former jail and its surroundings (listed as cultural heritage) into a complex for cultural manifestations--workshops and installations. This project puts an end to 150 years of abandonment and deterioration and provides the city with a new cultural space of a scale that Valparaiso had not seen before.

---

Por Alberto Texido

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Gardens Beneath Which Rivers Flow

The Central outdoor space and
the upper level Fountain

Water in the Muslim Constructed Landscape

Ashraf M. Salama, 2010

This article was first published in: Faith & Form, Volume 43, Issue 3, 2010, PP.30-36. An article in a theme issue of Faith and Form: Sacred Landscape.

The Muslim faith emerged in a desert culture that thirsted for water, which was praised and prized as a rare yet breathtaking phenomenon. The faith spread across lands where great civilizations had already prospered: in the fertile valleys of the Nile in Egypt, of the Tigris and Euphrates in Iraq, and eventually of the Indus in India and of southern Spain. Water played multiple roles in relating the holy Qur’an and the sayings of the Prophet Muhammad to Muslim culture, from being a landscape element in mosques, mausoleums and palaces, to its use for irrigation and for everyday living. This article highlights selected manifestations of the use of water as one of the important elements that shaped the built environment of Muslims.

Gardens Beneath Which Rivers Flow: Water in the Muslim Constructed Landscape

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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