Architecture, history and politics at your feet
Eastbourne appears to be a conventional seaside town, home to seagulls and the occasional party conference. It is building a new Arndale Centre and had some splendid post war seaside buildings. Have a look at these.
It also has a brilliant sea front and a rather nice pier.
Marseille was not built for walking. It is the largest harbour in Europe, the docks are separated from the city by massive parallel elevated motorways and in the summer it is undoubtedly too hot to move.
However the restored old port revived with investment in the ‘Muceum’ is a remarkable achievement of pedestrian friendly architecture. 
This year’s Maggie’s Culture Crawl took place on the night of Friday 18 September. A sponsored walk in support of Maggie’s Centres which offer aesthetically inspiring places for people affected by cancer, the partnership with London Open House focusing on discovering the city on foot. The walk this year was curated by Sandy Nairne, formerly director of the National Portrait Gallery who gave an especially moving speech in which he talked of the ‘power of walking’. He was partly inspired by the walk which had taken place the previous day during which the artists Ai Weiwie and Anish Kapoor had walked with blankets from central London to the Olympic Park in recognition of those currently walking across Europe. This raises the issue of what it means to walk when it is not necessary to do so. Everyone who took part in the Culture Crawl could easily have made a straightforward donation to Maggie’s or could have taken out a standing order or taken part in some other kind of sponsored event. However, all chose the walk as the preferred way of making a statement about Maggie’s or a statement about discovering part of London or perhaps a statement about the value that they attribute to the act of walking.
Last week I led a walk exploring the drovers’ route from the Royal Agricultural Hall, Islington to Smithfield Market. This took in the New River, the history of Sadler’s Wells, Spa Green and especially the impact of the movement of meat and water on the design and development of the route along St John’s Street to Smithfield.
I will be leading this walk again on Saturday 26th September at 2pm, starting at the Business Design Centre in Islington. Find out more and book at Open City
.
Freiburg in southern Germany rightly calls itself a ‘green city’. It has demonstrated a thirty-year commitment to sustainable urban development. Born out of protests against the building of nuclear power stations and influenced by the catastrophe at Chernobyl, a green activism has led to an impressive urban achievement. This includes:
(Freiburg Green City, Wolfgang Frey, 2011)
I visited Freiburg on holiday and the images below tell a story of ingenuity, homeliness, respect for children, shared green places, a joy in walking and cycling; and a commitment to the generation of solar energy. Very few of these pictures illustrate radical approaches to architecture as many of the buildings are simple five-storey apartments blocks. Houses are generally terraced but there are no detached garages and very few cars. What connects so many of the apartments are balconies large enough live on; solar panels on most roofs; space to park bikes; narrow streets that give priority to children; green roofs; colourful walls; and places that feel humane and homely. Freiburg has created its own traditions which set standards for sustainability and community.
Freiburg has the benefit of being an affluent city as well as a university research centre. It has had a stable council with the same Green Party mayor and head of planning for the past thirty years. It has also established a cost-effective public transport system which is popular with many of its citizens and it has built tram ways which are green in every sense of the word as the pictures below illustrate.
Why is London (or any part of the UK) apparently incapable of learning any of the lessons of Freiburg? Architects, local authority officials and urbanists have been visiting the city for the past twenty years.
So much housing in the capital is inhumane, grey, glass-covered and thoroughly alienating as well as expensive to buy, to rent and to heat. As the government makes a commitment to building on brownfield sites without planning permission; a serious debate needs to take place on why one of the most affluent and design-conscious cities on earth is failing to offer its citizens something which the residents of a small German city now take for granted.
There can be few more delightful ways of spending a Saturday than in the print workshop at the St Bride’s Foundation just off Fleet Street. St Bride’s includes not only the print workshop, but also a museum of design and print; a theatre; a library (as well as a disused swimming pool). A day spent learning the letterpress printing process is a reminder of a time when print was made of lead and every action had to be carefully callibrated and calculated. To set the scene, here are pictures of two of the printing presses.
My time was spent with the rather more modest Adana machine which is designed to produce letterpress printing at about A6. The process of getting from type to print is difficult, demanding and very enjoyable. This is the Adana. In this case blue ink is being applied to the ink plate. However, first some illustrations of the process of putting together the type.
This box contains a selection of individual letters all made of lead together with ‘leads’, the strips of lead applied between each row of type which leads to the current term leading to refer to the space between lines of print. Individual letters are selected and then placed in reverse order and with a mirror image into a callibrated tray.
Each line of type is assembled and held together loosely by the leading. A frame made of steel is then placed around the line of type. Blocks of metal are then inserted until the line of type is strongly bolted into place.
This is then placed in the Adana and following the inking of the ink pad, a single sheet of paper is inserted and printed.
The result can be seen below.
The process was delicate, produced modest results but was very satisfying. As the excellent teacher pointed out, mistakes were allowed and encouraged and could all be corrected. There was no need to be concerned with software failures or printers that did not work, every action could be observed, understood and used. Here are some of the wood typefaces just waiting to be used.
Over the summer I am leading a number of new guided tours with London Open City the architecture education charity.
Here are the details:
London Landscape – From St Paul’s to Leadenhall
Over the centuries the unique landscape of London has been shaped by its public spaces, including its distinctive streets, squares and parks.
London’s historic core has gone through significant renewal over the past ten years, designed to meet the needs of the banking sector. In addition the City of London Corporation has been focusing on the needs of local residents as well as tourists by creating new landscapes, gardens and public spaces.
This one-off special walking tour looks at the investment in landscape and public realm to create a greener and more pedestrian-friendly environment in the heart of London, from the new gardens of St Paul’s Cathedral to the public spaces beneath the Leadenhall Building.
Meeting point: City Information Centre, St Paul’s Churchyard EC4M 8BX.
Wednesday 1 July 6.30pm Booking details on the Open City website.
London Landscape – Southbank
Over the centuries the unique landscape of London has been shaped by its public spaces, including its distinctive streets, squares and parks.
The regeneration of the Southbank from Potters Fields and City Hall to Jubilee Gardens had demonstrated the work of a wide range of landscape architects as well as the patronage of many different land owners.
With the recent completion of More London’s public realm; the creation of new public spaces outside of the National Theatre and the development of Jubilee Gardens in the shadow of the London Eye, this one-off special walking tour with the Landscape Institute looks at the way in which one of the fastest-changing parts of London has used landscape-led regeneration to establish a set of new identities.
Meeting point: Outside City Hall
The Queen’s Walk
More London
London SE1 2AA
Wednesday 15 July 6.30pm. Booking details on the Open City website.
