Beyond EVE: Organisations

How to save energy, emissions and money in the building sector

Sun, 10 Jul 2022 12:03:13 +0200

The TAB report on energy-saving effects in the building sector shows what property owners can do to save resources and money and how the state can help them. Policy brief TAB-Fokus is available in English.

Buildings account for around 35 % of Germany's total final energy consumption. Residential buildings account for the largest share of buildings' energy consumption for heating, hot water, lighting, and cooling. From an energy and climate policy perspective, reducing energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions in the building sector is of great importance. Economical and effective solutions contributing to the"Wärmewende", the transition to sustainable heating, can also contribute significantly to reducing energy imports.

The successful transition to sustainable heating, i.e., saving thermal energy and decarbonizing heat consumption, is highly relevant for achieving Germany's energy and climate policy goals. High savings effects for the energy raw materials natural gas and heating oil are seen not only in new buildings but above all in existing residential buildings. But what savings can be achieved with the various measures? Which investments are worthwhile for building owners? Which political decisions can support the implementation of the necessary investments?

The TAB report "Energy-saving effects in the building sector" presents concrete and practical principles and options for action. The TAB report is thus not only aimed at decision-makers in politics and housing companies but can also provide owners of multi-family and single-family houses with basic orientation.

German Architecture Museum

Sat, 30 Oct 2021 14:18:53 +0200

DAM – national center for architectural debate DAM is not just one of the many museums in the City of Frankfurt, is it also the “German Architecture Museum”, with a national claim. Nowadays all our European neighbours have their own national centers that address the country’s building culture. DAM is today increasingly taking up the challenge this entails, and it is something Heinrich Klotz had in mind when he founded the museum, and not only with its exhibitions, but also with conventions, symposia, and lectures, is fostering the debate on current and future architectural and urban design issues. DAM also continues to focus on current topics relating to Frankfurt. The “Pecha Kucha Night”, a series of events based on the successful idea as realized in Tokyo, is regularly held at locations outside the DAM and provides a relaxed interdisciplinary platform for the young community inspired by architecture and design.

Archived Landscapes and Archival Landscapes: Architectures of Political Record-Keeping in Early Modern Western Europe, 1450-1700

Sun, 11 Jul 2021 14:00:58 +0200

The materiality of pre-digital documentary sources means that their preservation and organization in archives involved at least two simultaneous and separate architectonic contexts. Archivists sought to place physical documents within ordered spaces in a legible way; at the same time, as conveyers of information, documents were equally part of larger conceptual architectures, which were often spatially conceived in early modern Europe. This talk builds on the seminal contributions of Peter Rück, who captured this duality with the term „ideal-topographical“, but will move beyond the mapping relationships that Rück identified as the most common way of ordering archives from the 14^th to 17^th centuries. Examining several notable creations of dedicated archival architecture, from 15^th century Savoy to Simancas to the Haus- und Hofarchiv in Vienna in the 1740s, it will examine how the architecture of physical archives provided for but also constrained landscapes of domainal space by projecting them onto archival containers. In doing so, archiving supported shifting architectures of dominion by providing a stable site where such landscapes could be delineated and differentiated, as in the production of maps or cadasters.

Built Order: Spaces of Power / The Architecture of European Integration

Sun, 11 Jul 2021 12:21:15 +0200

The architecture of the space around us has a considerable influence on our everyday lives. However, the resulting layout is rarely accidental and unintentional. Architects who design government and administrative buildings, urban spaces, libraries or other built structures have always been guided by the aesthetic as well as functional requirements and needs that are placed on the buildings and architectures they design. The result is architecturally manifested space that intends to reflect and constitute political-social orders and ideals or designed with regard to specific forms of exercising and securing power.

The lecture series “Gebaute Ordnung” (Built Order) will investigate spaces of power during the 2021 summer semester. In particular, the speakers will explore how aspects of the architectural and spatial perceptibly interlock with political and social orders. Four evening lectures will touch on the topics of architectures of integration, exclusion and annihilation, representation and legitimation, and the securing of power.

SEBASTIANO FABBRINI

The Architecture of European Integration

“Architekturen des Ordnens” is a four-year (2020-2023) interdisciplinary research project of the Goethe University Frankfurt and Technical University Darmstadt, with the Max Planck Institute for Legal History and Theory and the Deutsches Architekturmuseum as non-university partners.

Ernst May Haus Frankfurt and Max Liebling Haus Tel Aviv – Exhibiting and Visiting an Architectural Monument

Fri, 22 Jan 2021 17:40:50 +0100

At the third event of the series “Context, Contrast, Continuity – Heritage Conservation and Urban Development” exemplary houses of Modernism will be discussed with the Max Liebling Haus in Tel Aviv and the Ernst May Haus as the foci.

The Max Liebling Haus was built in 1936 by Max and Tony Liebling according to plans by the architect Dov Karmi. Since 2019 it houses the White City Center Tel Aviv. The Liebling Haus – The White City Center was co-founded by the Tel Aviv-Yafo Municipality and the German government at a historical and cultural crossroad in the heart of Tel Aviv. Its mission is to actively preserve the heritage of the White City site and the international style, known in Israel as the Bauhaus.

The Ernst May Haus was built 1927/28 according to plans by Carl Hermann Rudloff and Ernst May as part of Frankfurt’s Römerstadt. It is an exemplary house for the extensive housing estates of the Neues Frankfurt. Since 2010, after carefully restoring the small single-family terraced house to its original state of 1929, it can be visited by the interested public.

Sharon Golan Yaron, architect and programme director of the Max Liebling Haus will present her curatorial achievements for the White City Center Tel Aviv. The Head of the ernst-may-gesellschaft, Prof. Dr. Klaus Klemp, will introduce the Ernst May Haus and the programme developed by the Forum Neues Frankfurt. They will expose the radically different curatorial strategy behind the Ernst May Haus and the Max Liebling Haus. The different approaches to storytelling in historically protected monuments will be explored also in the subsequent discussion which will be opened by Natascha Drabbe, Director and Founder of the Iconic Houses Network.

The online discussion event will be conducted in English.

Bundesarchitektenkammer e.V.

Sat, 12 Dec 2020 16:54:42 +0100

The BAK - Federal Chamber of German Architects is the governing body of the 16 Federal State Chambers of Architects in Germany. It represents the interests of about 134.000 architects in politics and the public on a national and international level. Although both architect and building order regulations are a matter of individual federal state legislation, many important political decisions pertaining to the profession are made in Berlin or Brussels.

Like lawyers, medical practitioners or pharmacists, architects belong to the group of liberal professions, whose occupational titles are protected by law. Only those professionals registered with the chamber of architects in his or her federal state are allowed to call themselves architect, landscape architect, interior architect or urban planner. Even though the admission rules vary slightly between the individual federal states, the chamber system guarantees that all professionals maintain a high level of professional training. This safeguards the quality of architectural and planning services in Germany so esteemed also abroad.

Amongst other things, the professional policy activities of the BAK focuses on professional training, competition and public procurement law, yet include also questions of standardisation and the development of the "Honorarordnung für Architekten und Ingenieure" (HOAI - German Fee Scales for Architects and Engineers). The HOAI constitutes a well-proven, transparent and reliable negotiation basis for fees for all those involved. It ensures that competition in planning services is based on quality and not on price, so that architects can work for the benefit of the awarding authorities and individuals, the users and the public.

The "Deutsche Architektenblatt" is the monthly member magazine of the BAK and the Federal State Chambers of Architects. It distinguished itself as a magazine with which architects can identify as regards their work in general, their questions, professional challenges and successes.

Association of German Cities

Sun, 06 Dec 2020 14:20:01 +0100

The Association of German Cities is the voice of cities and the national local-authority association of cities which are not belonging to a county as well as of most cities and towns within counties. As a community of solidarity of cities it represents the idea of local self-government to Federal Government, Federal States (Bundesländer), European Union, governmental and non-governmental organisations. The work and services of the Association of German Cities are primarily geared to the needs and interests of the direct member cities and their citizens. 2030 Agenda: Building Sustainability at the Local Level The German Association of cities initiated for its members the resolution: "2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development: Building Sustainability at the Local Level". Members Cities are invited to sign up a commitment for a sustainable agenda and initiate activities and measures for sustainability. This could be measures like awareness raising, new strategies in politics and administration, reductions of CO2 emissions or strengthening global partnerships.

Institute for Architecture - Natural Building Lab

Institute for Architecture - Natural Building Lab — Fri, 04 Dec 2020 15:58:08 +0100

The NATURAL BUILDING LAB accompanies students on their learning journey in times of societal upheaval, enables them to work in dialog with inter- and transdisciplinery teams, introduces them to academic working techniques and welcomes them as part of a like-minded international network. NBL is in a metaphorical and literal sense a workshop, in which learners and teachers in teams undertake hands-on research, teaching and practice on the border between theory, practice and handwork on the most varying scales all the way up to 1:1.

Institute of building physics

Fri, 04 Dec 2020 14:38:38 +0100

The primary focus of the Fraunhofer IBP’s work is on research, development, testing, demonstration and consulting in the various specialist areas of building physics. These include areas such as noise control and sound insulation measures in buildings, the optimization of acoustics in indoor spaces, and solutions for improving energy efficiency and optimizing lighting technology.They also include issues related to climate control and the indoor environment, hygiene and health protection, building material emissions, weatherproofing and protection against heat and moisture, preservation of building structures and the conservation of historical monuments. The institute employs life cycle engineering methods to analyze the potential environmental, social and technical impacts of products, services and processes. This enables us to evaluate and make lasting improvements towards sustainability and to foster innovation processes. Our portfolio of building science services also includes building chemistry, building biology and hygiene, as well as cutting-edge work in the field of concrete technology. The “Systems Integration in Efficient Buildings” research team, which is affiliated with the Department of Indoor Environment and based at our Nuremberg branch, works on integrated solutions for buildings. Its goal is to provide maximum comfort, health benefits and age-appropriate housing while keeping costs reasonable and minimizing the use of energy. The Fraunhofer IBP works together with industry partners to help develop and launch novel and environmentally- friendly building materials, components and systems.

Our clients predominantly comprise building companies, mechanical engineering firms, plant manufacturers, contractors, developers, architects, planners and licensing authorities, as well as private and public-sector institutions engaged in construction research. The application of building science expertise to related areas of specialization has expanded our circle of partners to include companies from the automotive and aviation industries. We carry out complex building physics studies at our efficient and well-equipped laboratories and test centers and at our outdoor testing site in Holzkirchen, which to the best of our knowledge is the largest facility of its kind. Modern laboratory measuring techniques and computational methods help researchers develop and optimize building products for practical applications. We also carry out experiments in environmental test chambers, simulation facilities and existing buildings to assess components and overall systems for new buildings and renovation projects based on the principles of building physics.

The Fraunhofer IBP has been approved by the German building inspection authorities as a testing, monitoring and certification center for building materials and building techniques in Germany and the rest of Europe. Four of the institute’s test laboratories have been granted flexible accreditation by the German accreditation body Deutsche Akkreditierungsstelle GmbH (DAkkS) in accordance with DIN EN ISO/IEC 17025. This entitles them to develop new test methods and to modify existing methods.

Hochschule RheinMain - IMPACT RheinMain

Hochschule RheinMain - IMPACT RheinMain — Fri, 04 Dec 2020 14:22:19 +0100

With its application IMPACT RheinMain, the Rhine-Main University of Applied Sciences has been selected for funding in the first round of the federal-state initiative "Innovative Hochschule". Among the recipients are 35 universities of applied sciences, a college of art and music, and twelve universities and colleges of education. The "Innovative University" federal-state initiative - a kind of excellence initiative for universities of applied sciences - is intended to support universities in their efforts to further distinguish themselves in the areas of transfer and innovation and to intensify their strategic role in the regional innovation system. The strategy for transferring scientific findings into practice is essentially based on the three profile-building research priorities of the Rhine-Main University of Applied Sciences: professionalism in social work, smart systems for people and technology and engineering 4.0 and their interfaces "Smart Energy", "Smart Home" and "Smart Mobility". The university pays particular attention to interdisciplinary cooperation between the individual disciplines. The aim of the IMPACT RheinMain project is to initiate and implement innovative projects from the fields with cooperation partners from industry and civil society.

Federal Institute for Research on Building, Urban Affairs and Spatial Development

Fri, 04 Dec 2020 14:20:06 +0100

The Federal Institute for Research on Building, Urban Affairs and Spatial Development (BBSR) within the Federal Office for Building and Regional Planning (BBR) is a departmental research institution under the portfolio of the Federal Ministry of the Interior, Building and Community (BMI). It advises the Federal Government with sectoral scientific consultation in the political fields of spatial planning, urban development, housing and building. Research and development as well as knowledge-based services are core tasks of the BBSR. The scientists: - prepare analyses, expert reports, (governmental/departmental) reports and statements, - accompany technical policy measures and programmes and develop them further, - supervise the research programmes and initiatives of the BMI, - promote professional exchange in networks and committees, - communicate scientific findings through publications, events and websites, - maintain data and information bases for analyses and forecasts A Scientific Advisory Board supports the quality assurance of the Research Institute. The scientific exchange with universities and scientific organizations is further intensified, among other things through an internship program, courses and joint conferences. Translated with www.DeepL.com/Translator

Archiprix-International

Thu, 03 Dec 2020 14:44:46 +0100

Archiprix International is a biennial competition. With each edition Archiprix International presents a new generation of the world's best architects, urbanists and landscape architects together with their graduation projects. The formula is simple. All university-level training colleges around the world are invited to take part by selecting and submitting their one and only best graduation project. We send invitation letter to all 1700 registered universities in spring of the even years. Individual graduates cannot apply themselves, only graduation projects finished in the last two years selected by a university as their best graduation project are accepted. Archiprix International presents the submitted projects on her website, in a book, exhibitions and films. It forms the largest presentation of graduation work and offers unrivalled insight into current trends in design education globally and architecture generally.

London School of Economics - LSE Cities

Thu, 03 Dec 2020 14:42:46 +0100

LSE Cities is an international centre at the London School of Economics and Political Science that carries out research, graduate and executive education and outreach activities in London and abroad. It studies how people and cities interact in a rapidly urbanising world, focusing on how the physical form and design of cities impacts on society, culture and the environment. LSE Cities hosts a wide range of international conferences, public lecture series, seminars and awards that span the core of our research goals, and work to consolidate a growing network of urban experts. Public lecture series at LSE LSE Cities hosts a series of provocative and insightful public lectures, attracting the world’s leading urban academics, practitioners and politicians to discuss urban best practice, policy, and cutting edge theoretical and methodological debates. Videos and podcasts from LSE Cities public lectures are freely available online.

ETH CASE Centre for Research on Architecture, Society & the Built Environment

ETH CASE Centre for Research on Architecture, Society & the Built Environment — Thu, 03 Dec 2020 14:32:43 +0100

As a core area of living, housing is subject to the interplay between social and technological transformations. This challenge is at the heart of our activities at the internationally positioned research centre ETH Wohnforum – ETH CASE (Centre for Research on Architecture, Society & the Built Environment). Our work focuses on the design of liveable housing environments, relying in the process on our many years of experience in the field of housing research in Switzerland and abroad. The results are practically relevant solution approaches to the design of liveable cities and to the development of good and affordable housing. The goal of our work is to formulate basic principles, strategies and application-orientated solution proposals on questions of housing, in particular concerning the quality and production of residential space in urban and agglomeration areas. We have a profound store of expert knowledge at our disposal in the social and cultural sciences, architectural and spatial research, as well as in the development of the methods and instruments with which to analyse and design human settlements.

Sustainable & Resilient Urban-Rural Partnerships

Sat, 05 Dec 2020 22:36:33 +0100

Regions are of critical importance to achieve the implementation of the UN 2030 Agenda including the Sustainable Development Goals and the HABITAT III objectives. The traditional distinction between urban and rural is imprecise and obviously shapes conflicts hindering constructive approaches. Knowledge and policies can support sustainable and resilient urban-rural partnerships at various spatial levels for stronger regions. Innovative and comprehensive perspectives on common targets are needed together with strategies to put them into practice. It is important to understand the complexly structured continuum in-between the urban and the rural and unleash synergies by close interaction and mutual support. This perspective unfurls particular relevance concerning sustainable and resilient development pathways, including topics such as: 1 supporting equity in living conditions while accepting local particularities; 2 establishing multi-level, multi-actor and multi-sectoral regional governance approaches to mediate conflicting positions, trade-offs, dilemmas or paradoxes; 3 improving integrated land-use management, social and technological infrastructures and mobility services to enable proper living conditions and quality of life; 4 designing new sociotechnical approaches towards robust regional systems coping with climate change, extreme events, disruptive changes and uncertainties; 5 building the regional circular economy, enhancing resource efficiency based on a deeper understanding of the urban-rural metabolism; 6 exploiting digitalization strategies as catalyst and enabler of innovative development strategies irrespective of the location.

The 4th International Conference on Energy Efficiency in Historic Buildings

Sat, 05 Dec 2020 21:30:59 +0100

Achieving the ambitious governmental and societal goals in CO2 reduction needed to mitigate global climate change requires the contribution of all sectors including buildings and the construction industry. Historic and traditional buildings compose a considerable part of the worldwide building stock. Solutions are needed that respect the historic fabric of these buildings and yet contribute to energy efficiency improvements and CO2 reduction. The 4th International Conference on Energy Efficiency in Historic Buildings EEHB2020 aims to present new research and best practices on a wide range of topics relating to energy efficiency in historic buildings. This year, the focus will be on the role digital technologies can play in improving the energy performance of historic buildings, whilst respecting the principles of conservation. In this context, the aim is to take a closer look at the interfaces between digital building models and the energetic building simulation and the question of the necessary accuracy of both 3D digitisation and energetic or hygrothermal building simulation tools. Both technologies – 3D scans and building simulation – have been available for a long time, but so far there are no automated processes for converting 3D scans into the energetic building simulation. In addition, more research is also needed on the degree of accuracy of the building survey using digital methods in order to represent a historical building accurately. After three successful conferences organised by Casas Históricas y Singulares and Ars Civilis in Madrid (2014), the Belgian Building Research Institute in Brussels (2016) and the Swedish Energy Agency, Uppsala University and the Swedish National Heritage Board in Visby (2018) are proud to announce the 4th International Conference on Energy Efficiency in Historic Buildings which will be held in Benediktbeuern, Germany.

The land issue. Climate, economy, common good

Tue, 01 Dec 2020 15:34:37 +0100

We are living on our ground and with our ground. It feeds us, cools the earth`s atmosphere and we need it for housing, for leisure and for work. Since conservative investments lost their economical appeal, our land became an international and highly requested asset. Rising rents is one of the main symptoms. Our social market economy, our community and our success in dealing with climate change are therefore at stake. So, free access to land must be renegotiated. The exhibition The land issue is a project of the University of Kassel and curated by Stefan Rettich, Anna Kraus, Thomas Rustemeyer and Sabine Tastel. It presents aspects of the land issue in terms of climate, economy and the common good. References are made and very concrete possible solutions are shown.

MDH ARCHITECTS

Institute for Architecture - Natural Building Lab — Sat, 05 Dec 2020 22:14:28 +0100

After having successfully navigated our first ever digital talk in May with Waugh Thistleton Architects, we are looking forward to our second talk of the semester with Helge Lunder from MDH Architects in Oslo. Continuing our semester focus on urban timber construction, MDH gained significant publicity in 2016 with their Moholt Timber Towers project, an 8-storey student housing project in CLT which was recongnised with a number of prizes and short listed for the 2018 Mies Van der Rohe Award. Since then they have also completed a timber kindergarten and library as part of the same Moholt student village masterplan. We are looking forward to hearing more about MDHs projects and the way that timber construction is heading in Norway. The talk will be held via zoom.

Broken Glass: Mies van der Rohe, Edith Farnsworth, and the Fight Over a Modernist Masterpiece

Politics and Prose Bookstore — Fri, 04 Dec 2020 21:54:39 +0100

Alex Beam follows The Feud, his acclaimed account of a literary friendship gone bad, with the story of the complicated relationship behind one of the 20th century’s architectural masterpieces, the Farnsworth House. Named after its patron, Edith Farnsworth, a Chicago doctor and researcher, the iconoclastic glass-and steel structure was designed by Mies van der Rohe; drawn together by their shared dream, architect and patron grew close, spending weekends together at the Fox River site. Then a combination of cost overruns, differences about art, and contractual disagreements (inflamed by Frank Lloyd Wright) led to recriminations, regrets, and law suits. When the house was eventually completed in 1951, Farnsworth found it impossible to live there. Beam will be joined in conversation by Sebastian Smee, pulitzer prize winning art critic for the washington post and author of The Art of Rivalry. Instead of a set ticket price, we ask that you contribute what you can to support Politics and Prose Bookstore and our virtual event series. We know that everyone has been affected in these trying times, and we will continue to make our programming accessible to all. That said, a suggested contribution of $5, $10, whatever you can afford, will go a long way to keep our programming—and our bookstore—afloat as we are forced to adapt to new ways of business. 

Experiencing Density: Report Launch

Sat, 05 Dec 2020 15:59:30 +0100

Dense new towers, courtyard blocks and riverside homes are appearing across London, but there has been little research asking residents themselves what works and what doesn’t. Since 2016, a team of LSE researchers has been investigating how residents experience living in high-density housing.

At this report launch event, the researchers will present findings about life in 14 high-density schemes across the capital. They will be joined by architect Bob Allies, Professor Loretta Lees, and Tower Hamlets head of regeneration Sripriya Sudhakar, who will respond to the report and open a discussion about what it means for the future of London housing.

Findings from the research are presented in a user-friendly format on the project's website, which includes visual depictions and key facts from each of the 14 housing schemes.

SPEAKERS

Kath Scanlon (@KathJScanlon) is Distinguished Policy Fellow at LSE London.

Loretta Lees (@LorettaCLees) is Professor of Human Geography in the Department of Geography at the University of Leicester.

Sripriya Sudhakar is Head of Regeneration at London Borough of Tower Hamlets.

Bob Allies is an architect and a founding partner of Allies and Morrison. CHAIR Ricky Burdett (@BURDETTR) is Professor of Urban Studies at LSE a

Smarter London: the role of city government for a digital future

Sat, 05 Dec 2020 15:55:35 +0100

In 2018, the Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, published his roadmap for London to become the leading smart city globally. At the centre of this ambition stands a commitment to ensuring that digital technologies and data innovation will make a positive contribution to Londoners. While this requires a leading role of London's city-wide government, its complex and fragmented governance arrangement, decentralised city services and influential role of private sector actors demands new forms of collaboration and co-production.

The Smarter London Together roadmap identifies five missions: user-centred design, data-sharing, smart infrastructure, digital skills and collaboration. To work on these broad strategic components of a digital future, London government is supported by a Smart London Board and a new role of a Chief Digital Officer, appointed for the first time in 2018. Against the backdrop of international efforts that have advanced the smart cities agenda over the last decade, this public event will discuss successes and challenges of the London case. It will focus on the role of city governments in steering an urban-led digitalisation, how citizens and city government can interact more effectively and on how to bring the technology community on board. Besides reflecting on past and existing innovation, the event will speculate about how cities can go beyond trials and demonstrator projects and work towards city-wide scaling of new digital solutions. It will further reflect on new requirements for a deeper knowledge of city data, data protection and security related concerns.

Appointed in 2017 as London’s first Chief Digital Officer, Theo Blackwell (@LDN_CDO) leads on London-wide digital transformation, data and smart city initiatives at City Hall.

Léan Doody (@ldoody) is an Associate Director and the Digital Property and Smart Cities Leader for Europe at Arup. She has over 20 years’ experience in the industry on projects involving extensive strategy and policy work on the application of smart technologies.

LSE Cities (@LSECities) is an international centre that carries out research, graduate and executive education and outreach activities in London and abroad. It studies how people and cities interact in a rapidly urbanising world, focusing on how the physical form and design of cities impacts on society, culture and the environment.

SYD MEAD - FUTURE CITIES

Tue, 01 Dec 2020 15:33:50 +0100

An exclusive look into the creative world of one of the great futurists of our time Star Trek: The Motion Picture, Tron, Blade Runner or Aliens, Mission to Mars and Elysium: for legendary science fiction films Syd Mead created trend-setting and breathtaking worlds. He developed entire cities and mobility concepts with flying cars, autonomous vehicles, space ships. Syd Meads picture worlds are always characterized by functionality and mostly a positive idea of the future. But for the dystopian cult film Blade Runner Syd Mead created the vision of a bold and apocalyptic city in which huge sky-scrapers dominate the skyline. Now, in November 2019, fiction overlaps with the present, for the 1982 film is set in Los Angeles 2019. A total of 30 originals with a focus on urban spaces, including motifs for Blade Runner, offer an insight into the creative world of the visionary. In a brand new short documentary, Syd Mead talks about his work, inspiration and career. Exhibition idea / initiator: Markus Penell Curator: Boris Hars-Tschachotin Mon- Fri 3 to 7 pm and by appointment

Queen's Lecture 2019

Technische Universität Berlin — Fri, 04 Dec 2020 12:58:37 +0100

Professorin Corinne Le Quéré: „The interactions between climate change and the carbon cycle and the future we choose“ This year will be remembered as the year the world woke up to the climate crisis – and it’s about time! Climate change is unfolding as predicted by scientists repeatedly and consistently over the past thirty years at least. We can now see the changes with our own eyes, and the impacts look a lot scarier in reality than on paper. But just how did we get here, and what comes next? This lecture will present the scientific basis for climate change through the lenses of the natural carbon cycle. It will show how emissions of carbon dioxide (CO2) from human activities have caused the planet to warm, and have set in motion a train of changes in the natural carbon cycle. Every year, the land and ocean natural carbon reservoirs, the so-called carbon ‘sinks’, absorb 55% on average of the CO2 emissions we release in the atmosphere from burning fossil fuels, deforestation, and other activities. The carbon sinks slow down the rate of climate change, but they themselves respond to a changing climate, by leaving more CO2 in the atmosphere. The latest evidence on trends in emissions and carbon sinks of the past 60 years, reveals the limits of our understanding and the challenges we face to develop a planetary monitoring system that can keep track of the rapidly changing carbon cycle. The lecture will incorporate in the science of climate change and how it interacts with the carbon cycle, with the evolving relationship between scientists and society during the past decades. It will detail the growing momentum of global political leadership emerging to tackle climate change, the challenges that we face, and offer reflections on ways to bring about the future we choose. Corinne Le Quéré is Royal Society Research Professor of Climate Change Science at the University of East Anglia. She is a member of the UK Committee on Climate Change and in France chair of the related Le Haut Conseil pour le climat. more The Queen's Lectures are supported by the British Embassy and the British Council Germany.

The lecture will be held in English.

Saving America's Cities

Politics and Prose Bookstore — Fri, 04 Dec 2020 21:25:13 +0100

Lizabeth Cohen - Saving America's Cities: Ed Logue and the Struggle to Renew Urban America in the Suburban Age — in conversation with E. J. Dionne Focusing on the life and work of Edward J. Logue (1921-2000), an urban planner, public administrator, and lawyer, Cohen’s new book surveys the boom of government-sponsored urban renewal in the post-war decades. An advocate of large-scale projects like his contemporary and rival, Robert Moses, Logue worked to revive New Haven, designed New Boston around a restored Government Center and Faneuil Hall-Quincy Market, and, as head of New York State’s Urban Development Corporation, rebuilt Roosevelt Island. Highlighting both the successes and troubling legacy of Logue’s work,

Cohen, a Harvard professor and award-winning author of Making a New Deal and A Consumers' Republic, illuminates the complicated history of today’s gentrification issues.

Cohen will be in conversation with E.J. Dionne, Washington Post op-ed columnist.

Led by children: designing an inclusive city

Sat, 05 Dec 2020 15:23:18 +0100

In a city short of funds where urban air pollution was a growing concern something creative needed to be done to change the city for the better. Elected in 2015 mayor Erion Veliaj has transformed the city, harnessing the power of its children, “a small revolutionary in every family” to help him. In his first year Veliaj took 40,000 sq m of land from illegal developments, making way for 31 new playgrounds. He instigated repeated traffic closures on the main Skanderbeg Square to allow children to play safely, now permanently car free the square sits at the centre of a pedestrian zone that has expanded monthly. The Mayor of Tirana will talk about his visions for the city and the difficulties of introducing change and talk with Amica Dall, one of the directors of Assemble, a democratically run architecture, art and design practice Ticket registration This event is free and open to all, and no registration is required. Entry is on a first-come, first-served basis.

The Civic City in a Digitized World

Fri, 04 Dec 2020 21:13:29 +0100

The world is turning to its darker face, apprehension is in the air, the Zeitgeist is one of rising anxiety as our social and our tribal selves increasingly clash as we become overwhelmed by the speed of change. Where do we belong when everything is on the move and the ‘real’ and the virtual blend ever more. How can we combine our desire for anchorage, belonging and stability, with our wish for connections and networks across the globe. How do cities create an atmosphere of opportunity, potential and a ‘can do’ attitude and can they offer us possibilities to grow and be inspired. Charles Landry is an UK-based urban scientist, author and internationally acknowledged advisor and speaker on future urban development. In the end of the 1980s he developed the concep of the Creative City; his most famous book “The Creative City: A toolkit for Urban Innovators” was published in 2000. “The Digitized City” (2016) and “The Civic City in a Nomadic World” (2018) are two of his most recent publications.