(clic to enlarge)From L'architecture du parking, Simon Henley, ed Parenthèses
28 February 2009
Storeys car-park envelop
(clic to enlarge)From L'architecture du parking, Simon Henley, ed Parenthèses
ON THE ROAD
On the road explores some of the most significant buildings and engineering structures built in Britain to serve motor vehicles. It focuses on ten key examples -including the Dartford Tunnel, the Humber Bridge and Birmingham's Spaghetti Junction- and examines the ways in which these new forms have changed almost every square mile of the country during the twentieth century. All the chosen project have been specially photographed by architect Alex de Rijke, and are annotated with sketches by engineer Michael Hadi. Other contributors concentrate on how we experience the structures, as well as investigating their cultural context.
27 February 2009
‘Traffic in town’
The automobile has been the major tool for our cities' shape since the beginning of the 20th century. But it’s mainly in the 50’s that cities changed to be adapted to the car and it’s infrastructures. Most of government, despite some adverts from professionals and intellectuals, encouraged the use of the car by systematically increasing the infrastructures to follow the rapidly growing fleet of cars. Los Angeles is the perfect example of a city exclusively shaped for cars with it freeways, boulevard and parking lots covering half of the land, where people have to drive a long way to go from a place to another.
In Britain during the 50’s (the second country for cars after U.S.), the transport minister undertakes a study of urban traffic problems. The report ‘Traffic in town’ published in 1963 by Colin Buchanan, a British planner, become quickly famous in the world. ‘His efforts to limit the penetration of the car into cities made him known as one of the most prominent car critics’ advise Brian Ladd (Autophobia).
But Buchanan was not against cars; he was more for reconciliation between cars and city life through careful city planning. He thought that it was necessary to hierarchies the distribution roads in the city, following the ‘Chartres d’Athenes’. He was explaining that the circulation function must be independent than the access function.
In Britain during the 50’s (the second country for cars after U.S.), the transport minister undertakes a study of urban traffic problems. The report ‘Traffic in town’ published in 1963 by Colin Buchanan, a British planner, become quickly famous in the world. ‘His efforts to limit the penetration of the car into cities made him known as one of the most prominent car critics’ advise Brian Ladd (Autophobia).
But Buchanan was not against cars; he was more for reconciliation between cars and city life through careful city planning. He thought that it was necessary to hierarchies the distribution roads in the city, following the ‘Chartres d’Athenes’. He was explaining that the circulation function must be independent than the access function.
Buchanan’s ideas were following the Modernists as Le Corbusier with his research on urban dynamism linked with automobile dynamism;' the architectural shape generated by infrastructure'. In reaction to the over functionalism of the ‘Chartres d’Athenes’, The Smithson (Team X) works more on conciliation between infrastructure and neighbourhood scales. They called it ‘Cluster cities’. Their schemes on urban slab were the prototypes of the Barbican in London or La Defense in Paris.
(Clic to enlarge)
A & P Smithson, Cluster City, 1957
A & P Smithson, Grid CIAM 10, 1956."Hand sketch explaining the houses repartition in a Yorkshire's village
(Clic to enlarge)A & P Smithson, Cluster City, 1957
A & P Smithson, Grid CIAM 10, 1956."Hand sketch explaining the houses repartition in a Yorkshire's village
(Clic to enlarge)A & P Smithson, Haupstadt Berlin, 1957. "Bird eyes view" (drawing by P.Sigmond)
But quickly, those ideas were badly reused and interpreted by governments. As David Mangin says ‘ the urbanism of sectors has quickly replaced the urbanism of guidelines. The mobility as a winner on physical geography.’
The urban roads have mutated and the street has been dissolved.
(Clic to enlarge)Argenteuil (95, France) Val d'Argent Nord , Urban slab surrounding by 8000 flats. built from 1965 to 1976. Is a the moment under a regeneration scheme.
LIGHT LANE
Yet, only a small fraction of streets have dedicated bike lanes, and with an installation cost of $5,000 to $50,000 per mile, we shouldn’t expect to find them everywhere anytime soon. Instead of adapting cycling to established bike lanes, the bike lane should adapt to the cyclists. This is the idea behind the LightLane. Our system projects a crisply defined virtual bike lane onto pavement, using a laser, providing the driver with a familiar boundary to avoid. With a wider margin of safety, bikers will regain their confidence to ride at night, making the bike a more viable commuting alternative.23 February 2009
SHARE it !
The beginning…
In a speech in the 60’s, the Soviet Nikita Khrushchev proposed a socialist motorisation; a form of collective owned vehicle in order to fulfil practical needs without becoming an object of conspicuous consumption. But without success…
In the Meanwhile, Car sharing or ‘ Carpool’ has been developed in the United States during the petrol crisis in the 70’s. The lack of public transport and the high cost of petrol have encouraged this practice especially for home/work travels and between people of the same company. 2 or 3 peoples were sharing their car with each other’s. Each week the cars were swaping in order to have no exchange of money.
But this practice has progressively disappeared especially during the 90’s; the years of individualism development.
Car sharing is coming back!
The awareness of global warning, city sprawling effects, health problems due to pollutions, death by accidents, city congestion, public space disappearance … encourage the development of new transport modalities.
The car sharing is today well spread, helped by the development of new technologies of information and telecommunication. A lot of people have now access to Internet. Car sharing websites are manage by local communities, students associations, or firms interested by their employees’ mobility, …
But this practice is not only interesting for private people; it does also participate to the reduction of roads congestion and car park sprawling. Jean Pierre Orfeuil explained the eventuality of a financial advantage by the firm for the employees who don’t use a car park as the Californian example from the 70’s where the employees' wage was increased if they didn’t need to park a car.
Car sharing is a good vector of sociability and promotes communities’ exchange and solidarity.
But sharing a car is not only a practice between car’s owners; it can also be an exchange via a firm that provide cars for users. This practice is interesting to reduce production of cars and pollutions and to question the property.
Loic Mignotte is the founder of ‘Caisse-commune’, which exist in Paris since 1999 and propose attractive rates. This firm presents itself as an alternative of individual vehicle and a complement for the use of public transport or taxi: ‘We are part of a multi modal process according to uses. We aim to develop ecological behaviour with economy. Because the user is paying for using, he is encouraged to think about his consumption.’ The city mayor is also encouraging commercial agents of municipal car park to be involved in the development of those ‘car-sharing’ stations with interesting prices. (Novethic)
This process is also taking part of the optimisation of car park space because a car is in constant use between different people. ‘Caisse-Commune’ estimates 20 users for one car!
In a speech in the 60’s, the Soviet Nikita Khrushchev proposed a socialist motorisation; a form of collective owned vehicle in order to fulfil practical needs without becoming an object of conspicuous consumption. But without success…
In the Meanwhile, Car sharing or ‘ Carpool’ has been developed in the United States during the petrol crisis in the 70’s. The lack of public transport and the high cost of petrol have encouraged this practice especially for home/work travels and between people of the same company. 2 or 3 peoples were sharing their car with each other’s. Each week the cars were swaping in order to have no exchange of money.
But this practice has progressively disappeared especially during the 90’s; the years of individualism development.
Car sharing is coming back!
The awareness of global warning, city sprawling effects, health problems due to pollutions, death by accidents, city congestion, public space disappearance … encourage the development of new transport modalities.
The car sharing is today well spread, helped by the development of new technologies of information and telecommunication. A lot of people have now access to Internet. Car sharing websites are manage by local communities, students associations, or firms interested by their employees’ mobility, …
But this practice is not only interesting for private people; it does also participate to the reduction of roads congestion and car park sprawling. Jean Pierre Orfeuil explained the eventuality of a financial advantage by the firm for the employees who don’t use a car park as the Californian example from the 70’s where the employees' wage was increased if they didn’t need to park a car.
Car sharing is a good vector of sociability and promotes communities’ exchange and solidarity.
But sharing a car is not only a practice between car’s owners; it can also be an exchange via a firm that provide cars for users. This practice is interesting to reduce production of cars and pollutions and to question the property.
Loic Mignotte is the founder of ‘Caisse-commune’, which exist in Paris since 1999 and propose attractive rates. This firm presents itself as an alternative of individual vehicle and a complement for the use of public transport or taxi: ‘We are part of a multi modal process according to uses. We aim to develop ecological behaviour with economy. Because the user is paying for using, he is encouraged to think about his consumption.’ The city mayor is also encouraging commercial agents of municipal car park to be involved in the development of those ‘car-sharing’ stations with interesting prices. (Novethic)
This process is also taking part of the optimisation of car park space because a car is in constant use between different people. ‘Caisse-Commune’ estimates 20 users for one car!
21 February 2009
Well done!
“ I’m going to democratize the automobile (…) When I’m trough, everybody will be able to afford one, and about everybody will have one.” Henry Ford
16 February 2009
All Mod Cons
BLESS n°35 AUTOMATICA, 2008, leather, foam.Somerset House exhibition 'WOULDN'T IT BE NICE...' December 2008
15 February 2009
11 February 2009
1 February 2009
Running on empty
Excerpt from The Guardian (28.01.09) by Jonathan GlanceyWhile it’s hard to imagine the president’s security advisers recommending a Smart car instead of Cadillac One, it would be interesting to see a read-out of Obama’s carbon footprint over the next four years as his fellows Americans replace their V8 pick-ups and SUVs (sport utility vehicle) with cars designed to use half or even tree times less gas than these politically doomed design.
The ownership of car has been a symbol of American freedom since Henry Ford launched his Model-T, or “Tin-Lizzie’, in 1908.
The cars, especially the V8-powered one, big and rumbling, have long been celebrated in film and song.
Bruce Springsteen:
“I got a 69 Chevy with a three ninety-six, Fuelie heads and a Hurst on the floor, She’s waiting tonight down in the parking lot, Outside the seven-Eleven store… Tonight, tonight the strip’s just right, I wanna blow’en off in my first heat, Summer’s here and the time is right, We’re goin’racin’in the street”
The idea of Chuck Berry idly riding along in his automobile “Cruisin’ and playing the radio/With no particular place to go” will be soon anathema.
How a culture and a country whose very infrastructure and way of life has turned for so long with the wheels of mammoth automobiles is going to make do with “environmentally friendly” cars that could fit inside the trunk of Elvis’s or Obama’s Cadillac.
DRIVE-IN MOVIE
(clic to enlarge)Drive-in movie theatre, Los Angeles, 1945
(clic to enlarge)Drive-in movie theatre, Copenhagen, 1961
There are something like 550 cars parked here on the opening night of Scandinavia's first drive-in movie theatre.
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